VICE PRESIDENT GORE TOUTS TELEPHONE AND CABLE DEREGULATION         
New York-Oct. 17---VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE SAID today that while he is
"extremely disappointed" by the failure of Congress to pass a bill that would
open competition in the telecommunications and cable industries, the Clinton
Administration will "repeat, not retreat." 
Speaking ahead of a panel discussion sponsored by the Center for Communication,
Gore answered the seminar's title "Should the Government Promote Universal
Access?" with a strong yes. 
In June, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would give telephone
companies the option to offer video services and cable companies access to the
telephony market, and would open long-distance service to all competition. 
But the bill was abandoned before a vote in the Senate, after Sen. Ernest F.
Hollings (D-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, declared that
powerful business lobbies compounded by Kansas Republican Sen. Robert Dole's 
revised proposal, which left little or no room for compromise, made passage of
the bill impossible. 
Gore called the nation's ability to communicate via the proverbial information
superhighway "the basic challenge of our economic future. 
"Failure to reduce monopolies will bring higher prices," Gore said, adding
that the issue leaves little room for compromise. 
"Leaping just halfway across from a monopoly to competition will have dire
consequences," the vice president noted, adding, "We can't return to the past
and we cannot go halfway." 
Gore attributed the bill's failure to Dole's "non- negotiable" stance, but he
said he expects Congress to revisit the issue next year. 


**************************************
-Some PC Makers Say Notebook Buyers Won't Give Up Features to Lose a
Oct. 17--If most people are like Vrej Isaoglu, then AST Research was right to
ditch its tiny notebook computer. 
"Size is important, but I wouldn't want something that's so limited that I've
got to carry around a lot of extra accessories," said Isaoglu, 24, of Irvine,
Calif., who manages a coffee shop. "When you're working in a small space, like
on an airplane, there just isn't enough room for a lot of extras like an
external floppy drive." 
Nearly two years after subnotebooks first hit retail stores, computer makers 
are divided on whether these tiny PCs - which typically weigh 4 pounds or less
- have a future. 
In the past few weeks, both Irvine-based AST Research and Canon Computer 
Systems of Costa Mesa have dropped out of the subnotebook category. 
Meanwhile, competitors such as Toshiba America Information Systems, Compaq 
Computer Corp. and IBM are launching improvements. 
Making the right call on subnotebooks could mean high rewards. Some industry
analysts predict that the tiny machines will represent nearly half of all
notebook sales by 1998. 
More importantly, supporters say engineering advancements made in subnotebooks
will set the tone for all of mobile computing. The companies that don't stick
with subnotebooks during the pioneering years will eventually be left behind,
they say. 
"We think that all notebooks will begin to look like these smaller notebooks,"
said International Data Corp. analyst Ted Julian. "The sales numbers aren't
big now, but there's no question that they're going to grow." 
Whether the market heats up or fizzles out, consumers can expect to see two 
general categories this year as manufacturers attempt to lure buyers. 
The first will be ultralightweight, low-priced versions, in the $500 to $1,500
range, that don't include a lot of features but have bigger screens and 
keyboards than their predecessors. This category, which follows in the
tradition of Hewlett-Packard Co.'s 2.9-pound Omnibook, will be marketed as a
part-time PC for consumers who already own a desktop or full-size portable PC. 
At the other end of the spectrum will be higher-priced, full-featured 
subnotebooks that are more like miniature notebook PCs. 
This category, which will start at about $2,000, will cater to road warriors 
who want to use a subnotebook as their primary computer. 
"What we're going to see are a new generation of products that are much less
crippled," said Dataquest PC analyst Michael McGuire. 
The polarization of the market is in part what tripped up AST, which worked 
for more than a year to bring a subnotebook to market. 
AST aborted its Ascentia 500S product line earlier this month - just days 
before the first shipments were expected to arrive in retail stores - citing 
price competition. 
But market watchers say the company created its own problem by taking too long
to get to market. Its product, which was billed as a "no-compromises" machine,
was faulty in concept because it tried to be a little bit of everything,
Julian said. 
At $2,299, the Ascentia 500S couldn't compete on price with subnotebook 
leaders Compaq and Hewlett-Packard. And though it came with a generous 9.5-inch
color screen and a full-size keyboard, it wasn't as complete as high-end 
products from companies such as Irvine-based Toshiba. 
"They were kind of stuck in the middle," Julian said. "What happened was the
market changed dramatically between the time that they came up with their 
design and when they were ready to bring it to market." 
AST declined to be interviewed for this article, but the company announced 
Friday that it would close its Fountain Valley manufacturing plant, which 
employs 440 people. 
Costa Mesa-based Canon Computer said it dumped its version of a subnotebook 
last month because the market wasn't big enough and wasn't likely to grow 
dramatically in the near future. 
"Initially, a lot of manufacturers were enamored with the concept and they 
misforecast demand," said Canon Vice President of Marketing Peter Bergman. 
"The reality is that customers still want a more complete set of features." 
Canon is betting that the companies that will lead in portable computing are 
manufacturers that find ways to add more features, not take them away. 
It points to the success of its Notejet, a combination portable PC and printer,
as evidence. 
"When you're on the road, you don't want to bother with extra pieces," Bergman
says. 
He said the recent price cutting is evidence that competitors are stuck with 
subnotebooks they can't sell because they lack internal floppy disk drives and 
other features that consumers are not willing to give up. 
NEC Technologies of San Jose, for example, dropped the price on Versa from 
about $2,500, to less than $2,000 - which makes it a low-priced alternative to 
its larger, more feature-packed portables. 
Compaq and Toshiba say that isn't so. They say the recent discounting is not
an indication that subnotebooks aren't selling, but instead are the typical
markdowns taken at the end of the product cycle. 
"We developed the Aero on a tight cost base. We didn't expect it to have a 
long life," said Kim Kasee, product manager for Compaq's ultra-light portables.
"I don't think in the near term we're going to see sub-notebooks represent a
big share of the portable market, but it's a category that's growing," Kasee 
said. 
Toshiba and IBM concur. They predict that the lines defining subnotebooks and
all portables will blur and that larger machines will fade away. 
IBM doesn't comment on "unannounced" products, but industry trade publications
say its next generation Thinkpad 500 series will include a larger screen and a
full-size keyboard. 
"People like a computer that weighs just a few pounds, but they want 
everything on it," said IBM PC Co. spokesman Michael Corrado. "As 
(manufacturers) work toward that, I think we're going to end up with products 
that don't necessarily fit the definition of a subnotebook." 


**************************************
(Oct. 17) - HEALTH & LIFESTYLE - IRANIAN DRIVERS THE WORST    
 IRANIAN DRIVERS THE WORST  Iran has more traffic accidents than any other
country in the world - and there are only three million cars in the country.
Transport Minister Akbar Torkan says there are 37,000 serious accidents a year
and about 120 acciden ts per 10,000 vehicles, 10 times the average in other
countries. (WN/HT/FE) 


**************************************
Home Shopping Via Internet Rises in Ease, Popularity               
Oct. 18--Home shopping is out. Electronic commerce is in. The prospect that
the coming of interactive television will produce an endless array of choices
for buying zirconium rings has elicited mostly groans from those responding to
market research surveys. 
In contrast, electronic commerce over computer networks is taking off. The
widespread availability of easy-to-use software, along with the development of
secure payment systems is making the Internet's World Wide Web a viable
marketplace. 
As a result, merchants are rushing to open electronic storefronts on the Web. 
With the help of software such as Mosaic, the Web is a user-friendly way to
navigate a worldwide computer network. It is leading the Internet from its 
roots as a virtually free, research-oriented discussion forum into its future 
as a full-fledged information marketplace. 
Home shopping on interactive TV won't begin until the new networks planned by
telephone and cable companies are ready for wide deployment in 1996 or later. 
"There's no question that if you want business this year, and you don't want
to work on experimental projects, then you work on the Internet," said Ed
McCracken, chief executive at Silicon Graphics Inc., which has run into snags
in the development of interactive television technology. 
The Internet market works best for information-based businesses. Magazines
such as Wired, newspapers such as the Mercury News and information brokers
such as Mead Data Corp. are pursuing strategies to make money on the Web. So
are small publishing houses such as San Francisco's City Lights Books. 
It's more difficult to push goods and personal services on the digital 
highway. But more products can be considered information - music, software and
video games are simply the beginning. 
What distinguishes the electronic information marketplace is that the unit
cost for each sale is zero. Unlike shipping widgets or automobiles, the sale
of a piece of information does not reduce supply. 
"The interest in commerce is that people have figured out that the Internet
solves the information distribution problem," said Marshall Rose of Mountain
View and co-founder of First Virtual Holdings Inc., which announced a new
electronic payment system Monday. "You can ship it to one person, 10 people or
10,000 people. It's not a problem." 
The popularity of the Web is in large part due to Mosaic, which hides the 
complex commands of the Internet and makes navigation of the World Wide Web a 
matter of pointing and clicking on highlighted words and pictures. 
Since last year, a version of Mosaic, developed by the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications, has been available for free over the Internet.
Last week, Mosaic Communications Corp. in Mountain View made its upgraded
version of Mosaic available over the Net for no cost. 
The development that is turning the growing user base into a customer base,
however, is the creation of payment systems that allow buyers and sellers to
complete their transactions without previous arrangements, a requirement for
any open market. 
One method, favored by Mosaic Communications and a new Cambridge-based company
called Open Market Inc., is the use of software encryption to protect the
secrecy of credit card numbers as they traverse the notoriously insecure 
Internet. 
An alternative is the First Virtual Holdings approach, in which the company
acts as a clearinghouse for purchases on behalf of buyers and sellers,
eliminating the need to send credit card information over the Net at all. 
Both methods allow information providers to price their goods by the piece,
rather than through more traditional monthly subscription fees or hourly
charges for data-base searches. 
The implications for the information industry are profound, Rose said. 
Information will become increasingly granular, with users paying only for what
they need. For example, news organization will begin to sell articles 
individually. Musicians will sell singles. And textbook publishers will offer 
customized textbooks. 
A new market is developing for information indexers, who keep track of 
available information and steer customers to the right places with the help of
powerful computer search engines. 
And finally, increased competition for information customers is putting a 
premium on high-quality information, raising the standards for news 
organizations and other information providers.  


**************************************
Polaroid Unveils High        Resolution Film Recorder
  CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Polaroid Corp. unveiled its new Digital Palette Color
 Film Recorder, the HR 6000, which it said creates high resolution,
 professional quality 35mm slides, prints and chromes in "just minutes" from
 personal computers and work stations, The Wall Street Journal reported.
  The HR 6000 has a suggested list price of $6,000, and is designed for the
 medical, scientific, government, business and education market.


**************************************
Microsoft, Compaq to Use     Air Tickets In Promotion
  Taking price wars to new heights, Microsoft Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp.
 will be offering something extra with their home products this fall: free
 companion tickets on Delta Air Lines, The Wall Street Journal reported.
  Customers purchasing two Microsoft home products or either a Compaq
 Presario desktop computer or Contura Aero subnotebook computer will receive
 a voucher for a companion pass. By buying both a pair of Microsoft programs
 and one of the computers, consumers can qualify for two free companion
 passes.
  The promotion is surprising since Microsoft and Compaq products were
 expected to fly off store shelves anyway this Christmas. Yet the computer
 industry has been turning more and more to traditional marketing tactics.
 Major personal computer players, who have traditionally relied on price cuts
 to stimulate demand, are spending hundreds of millions on television
 advertising this fall to broaden the home computer's appeal.
  A companion ticket could be had for as little as the purchase of a pair of
 $26 Microsoft screen-saver programs, and the fine print appears less
 oppressive than other airline companion-fare tie-ins. The Microsoft-Compaq
 vouchers require purchase of any round-trip Delta fare above $359, plus a
 $10 processing fee. Purchases must be made from Oct. 15 to Jan. 15, with
 travel valid from Nov. 1 until July 1, except for blackout dates.


**************************************
Micron Technology Agrees     To Acquire Control Of Zeos
  Micron Technology Inc. said it agreed to acquire control of Zeos
 International Ltd. in a transaction valued at about $405 million that unites
 two second-tier PC makers against the giants dominating the market.
  Under the letter of intent announced yesterday, Micron will merge its
 personal-computer businesses into Zeos; the accord would leave 89% of Zeos's
 shares in the hands of Micron and certain of its shareholders.
  Shareholders of two Micron subsidiaries -- Micron Computer Inc. and Micron
 Customer Manufacturing Services Inc. -- would exchange their shares for
 those of Zeos, based in Minneapolis. Micron, based in Boise, Idaho, owns 77%
 of Micron Computer, its PC subsidiary, and 89% of Micron Customer, which
 assembles PC products for other companies. Their remaining shares are owned
 by their employees.
  After the merger is complete, Micron Technology would own 79% of Zeos; the
 Micron subsidiaries' employees would own about 10% of Zeos, and Zeos's
 current shareholders would own about 11%. Zeos shares closed at $5,
 unchanged on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Micron Technology shares fell 87.5
 cents to $33.50, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
  Zeos would acquire its Micron interest through newly issued shares, a
 Micron spokeswoman said, declining to say how many new shares Zeos would
 issue. Zeos has 10 million shares outstanding; to give Micron an 89% stake,
 Zeos would have to issue 81 million new shares; at yesterday's closing
 price, that puts the value of the Micron units at $405 million.
  Besides the dilution to Zeos shareholders, analysts said the accord would
 have little immediate financial impact. But the combination could bring size
 and cost savings to two companies in a market marked by rapidly falling
 prices and larger competitors.
  Competition is particularly acute in the mail-order segment, where Micron
 and Zeos both face struggles against Dell Computer Corp. and Gateway 2000
 Inc. Although Zeos shareholders will be reduced to a minority stake, said
 Gregory Herrick, Zeos' chief executive officer, in the PC industry
 "sometimes a smaller piece of a bigger pie is better than a bigger piece of
 a smaller pie."
  Richard Whittington, an analyst at SoundView Financial Group, said the
 accord fits Micron's strategy of exploiting its powerful position in memory
 chips, which may account for as much as 15% of the cost of PCs. An agreement
 with Zeos could add a better-known brand name and a line of portable
 computers. Micron said its PC business earned $35 million on sales of about
 $400 million in the 12 months ended Sept 1.


**************************************
Wireless Modem Puts Trading  In Reach Of The Mobile Investor
  You can now buy and sell securities from a cornfield in Iowa.
  The nifty device that makes this possible is called Mobile Trader, a
 wireless modem that attaches to laptop computers and allows the itinerant
 investor to trade securities in mere seconds from just about anywhere in the
 U.S.
  Until now, investors were forced to plug in their laptops to a regular
 phone line, download stock quotes from a distant deskbound computer and
 complete their transaction. A wireless gadget that does the same thing means
 that securities can be bought or sold from an airport, golf course or while
 the user is stuck in traffic.
  "I can watch the market all day long," said Tom Gentile, an information
 services coordinator at Home Depot Inc. in Atlanta and one of about 80
 customers who use Mobile Trader on a test basis. A frequent business
 traveler, Mr. Gentile recently sold a batch of S&P Index futures while
 driving his truck between meetings in Atlanta. He racked up an instant
 profit of $5,000. His trading account is up 100% since June, much of which
 he attributes to Mobile Trader.
  Mobile Trader will be launched today by Usemco Technologies Inc., a closely
 held New York firm that developed the Windows-based software that runs the
 system. The wireless signals transmitted between the laptop and the stock
 exchanges are carried on a data network operated by Ram Mobile Data, a
 business venture between Ram Broadcasting Corp. and BellSouth Corp.
 Customers can call up real-time quotes on individual stocks, options,
 futures, commodities, indexes and mutual funds, and execute trades over the
 network.
  The service is still in its early stages. Customers who want to trade using
 Mobile Trader must open an account with either Gelderman Securities Inc. of
 New York, or Bernard Richards Securities Inc., a tiny New York firm.
 However, other firms say they are interested. Index Futures Group Inc. of
 Chicago, the clearing firm for Jack Carl 312 Futures, said it expects to
 sign on soon. And Brian J. McCahery, chief executive of Usemco, said he
 plans to aggressively market the device to larger brokerage houses.
  "It's a retail device" developed mainly for brokers as well as for stock
 market enthusiasts who like to trade on the side, said Mr. McCahery, who is
 also president of U.S. Equity Management Corp., a member of the American
 Stock Exchange. Some U.S. Equity customers, he said, prefer the convenience
 of executing their own trades instead of having to telephone a broker or
 floor trader. Customers can also get access to company news, market
 commentary and market tips supplied by Mr. McCahery on their laptops.
  "I carry it around with me all the time," said Dr. George Wharton, a spinal
 surgeon and medical director of Dallas Rehabilitation Institute, who trades
 S&P futures on the network in the doctors' lounge between operations. With a
 total margin account of $300,000 at his disposal, Dr. Wharton has executed
 as many as 30 trades a day while holding down his regular job.
  Once, while helping a colleague during a complicated surgery, another staff
 member informed Dr. Wharton that his desktop computer -- located in another
 building -- was beeping a "price alert" about his portfolio of securities.
 Dr. Wharton excused himself, turned on his laptop in the doctors' lounge,
 and completed a transaction before returning to the operating theater.
  Users such as Dr. Wharton said Mobile Trader drastically cuts down the time
 in which they can evaluate a stock position and execute a trade. But, like
 some other users, he has gripes about the system. While he likes the
 proposed price -- $295 per month, including the cost of RAM Mobile Data's
 wireless service -- he complains that he can't use the Mobile Trader in as
 many cities as he would like, such as Bozeman, Mont., where he spends
 weekends. A spokesman for Ram Mobile Data, of Woodbridge, N.J., said the
 network provides coverage to more than 7,500 cities, and it is continuously
 expanding its reach.
  Tim Ernest, owner of Ernest Irrigation Inc., a supplier of sprinkler
 systems in Toledo, Ohio, said Mobile Trader has expanded the number of hours
 he can devote to trading each day to five or six hours from three or four
 hours. "This is good for people who trade on the go," he said. "I'm not
 missing the moves now." He recently notched up a $3,500 profit using Mobile
 Trader while waiting for a connecting flight at the Cincinnati-area airport.
  Mr. Ernest said he also likes to tote the device to restaurants, motels and
 the golf course. His golfing colleagues watch curiously while he "refreshes
 stock quotes" while strolling down the greens. Does the constant vigilance
 ruin his golf game? "Not if I'm making money," he said.


**************************************
A Mysterious Matter Of Body  Odor Turns Into A Federal Case
  SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Beatrice Shaw knew her body odor sometimes got so
 rancid that it made her co-workers feel sick. She had watched with dismay as
 they put fans and Airwick deodorizers on their desks. Even her own lawyer
 described it as "just a killer."
  But unless someone at Citicorp Credit Services Inc. here told her when the
 intermittent scent erupted -- sometimes every few weeks, sometimes just two
 or three times a year -- she said she had no idea she was smelling at all.
  For a while, Ms. Shaw's bosses gently told her when she needed a shower,
 giving her a Post-It note with a flower drawn on it or the message: "It's
 time." But then a new supervisor decided that Ms. Shaw should deal with the
 problem herself, and that's when the real commotion began.
  Despite the qualms of her own attorney, the 47-year-old bankruptcy clerk
 sued the Citicorp subsidiary for discrimination under the Americans With
 Disabilities Act a year ago, contending that the banking company should
 accommodate her body odor just as it would any other handicap.
  "People don't realize this is a disability because they don't have the
 problem," she says. "This is one of those topics people either laugh about
 or don't talk about."
  But this dispute sparked a trial that tested the limits of the two-year-old
 federal disabilities law. Her attorney, Paul Boynton, questioned whether
 businesses are as willing to accommodate disabilities that disrupt the
 workplace, such as body odor or flatulence, as to make simple changes, such
 as adding wheelchair ramps.
  Ms. Shaw's suit sought $1.2 million, the maximum $300,000 penalty for each
 of the four times she believed her supervisors violated the ADA. She said
 she wanted the company to accommodate her disability, simply by letting her
 know politely when the smell struck.
  Citicorp officials say they would have accommodated Ms. Shaw if they had
 been convinced her body odor was a disability. All they had wanted, they
 say, was a doctor's note explaining the physical cause, but instead they
 received letters that essentially described the case as a medical mystery.
 Ms. Shaw's bosses, who said they could smell her from 35 feet away, thought
 poor hygiene was really to blame; they said she smelled worst, with an odor
 reminiscent of a locker room or dirty sweat socks, on days when her hair and
 hands looked greasy and unwashed.
  Ms. Shaw first became aware of her problem in the mid-1970s, when she was
 working at a school-district office. One day, she found an Ann Landers
 column on her desk, asking for advice on how to tell a co-worker she had
 body odor. The article suggested, among other things, leaving the column on
 the employee's desk.
  Ms. Shaw recalls bursting into tears when she realized she had yet another
 unusual physical ailment. She had been dogged by medical problems ever since
 being hit head-on by a drunken driver in 1967, an accident that eventually
 forced her to undergo extensive throat surgery. Left with a reconstructed
 windpipe just one-fourth normal size, she now speaks only in a soft rasp.
  Ironically, Citicorp hired Ms. Shaw through its outreach program to employ
 the disabled. But it knew only about her automobile injuries, not her body
 odor.
  For years, the pungent aroma appeared only occasionally, Ms. Shaw says,
 usually at times of extreme stress. It emerged when she went to a bar for
 the first time after her divorce, for example, and shortly after she began
 work as a manicurist, putting a set of acrylic nails on a client for the
 first time.
  Her problem was especially difficult to control because of her narrow
 windpipe. She avoided taking showers in the morning before work out of fear
 it would make her more susceptible to colds, which had led to such serious
 respiratory problems that she required hospitalization. She also was
 allergic to many of the stronger deodorants, once breaking out with such a
 bad rash that she couldn't lower her arms.
  Usually, dermatologists can find ways to eradicate offensive smells. They
 try to retard the rotting of dead skin cells, which can cause an unpleasant
 scent. They may prescribe topical antibiotics to reduce bacteria that
 decompose the skin or suggest aluminum chloride solutions, the potent
 ingredient in most deodorants.
  Many patients blow-dry their armpits at night, paint on a solution called
 Drysol, then sleep with Saran Wrap under their arms so the liquid can be
 better absorbed into their skin. They also watch their diets because pungent
 chemicals from foods such as garlic and onions can be excreted through the
 pores. Some patients undergo surgery to sever nerves that trigger excessive
 sweating.
  "I've never seen a case that wasn't controllable," says Joseph Bark, a
 former chairman of the American Academy of Dermatology's public-information
 committee. He has never met Ms. Shaw.
  Ms. Shaw has been examined by an internist, a dermatologist, a psychiatrist
 and an endocrinologist. She has cut down on spicy foods, taken Prozac to
 reduce anxiety and switched deodorants every six months in case she gets
 immune to them. To test out her latest remedies, she goes to her doctors for
 "smell checks."
  She always carries an extra bottle of deodorant and a change of clothes
 with her. And when the odor becomes too offensive, she leaves work, visits
 her doctor for another examination, then goes home, showers and sends all
 the clothes in her closet to the cleaners.
  "Do you know how stressful it is to go home to take care of a problem you
 can't control?" she asked, adding that she often feels "two steps lower than
 garbage."
  She finds the charge of poor personal hygiene especially galling because
 she takes such pride in her appearance. Sitting in her airy apartment, with
 the balcony door wide open, she shows off her red lacquered fingernails,
 which she keeps 1 1/2 inches long. She wears large diamond rings, one 8 1/2
 carats and another with two stones totaling five carats. She keeps a glamour
 photo of herself on her fireplace, her long, dyed blonde hair falling in
 perfect curls to mink-wrapped shoulders. She owns 60 pairs of high-heeled
 shoes and goes to a beauty parlor twice a month.
  At Citicorp, Ms. Shaw worked out a code with some friendly colleagues to
 let her know when the odor appeared. They would come up to her, give her a
 big hug and say: "Did you eat that whole big bowl of spaghetti by yourself?"
 or "Have you tried any new deodorants lately?"
  Ms. Shaw says she appreciated the lighthearted help. But in 1992, after her
 transfer to a new department, her supervisors became convinced the problem
 was hygiene-related. They said it wasn't their job to tell her when to take
 a bath.
  "I wanted her to be proactive in preventing the problem from occurring, not
 simply reactive," her supervisor, Sue Newport, said in a sworn declaration
 to the federal district court in San Francisco.
  The company had given Ms. Shaw months to get medical proof that her body
 odor was a health problem. But because of inconclusive test results, her
 doctors stopped short of a diagnosis. "Although no medical condition has
 been found to account for the excess perspiration, I do not feel it is an
 issue of personal hygiene," her doctor, Anne Bosshardt, wrote in a letter to
 Citicorp's medical office.
  A psychiatrist who evaluated Ms. Shaw once concluded that she probably
 suffered from bromhidrosis -- smelly sweat -- related to anxiety. He noted
 that her odor was strong at the beginning of the psychiatric interview, when
 she seemed nervous, but had vanished by the end.
  Before long, Ms. Shaw's problem worsened, and other employees complained
 more. Some walked by her desk, holding their noses, and one woman vomited
 from the stench. Ms. Shaw's bosses reprimanded her repeatedly, suggesting
 she shower in the morning and wash her hair daily rather than every other
 day. Sometimes, she says, they told her harshly: "Go home and clean up your
 act." She says her bosses sent her home three times when her friends told
 her she was not smelling at all. The company denies both allegations.
  Meanwhile, Ms. Shaw began receiving poor job evaluations, partly because
 she was missing work. From 1990 through 1992, she was absent 41 days and
 tardy 27 times, and left early on 16 occasions, according to Citicorp
 attendance records submitted to the court. She blames the absences partly on
 the stress of her body-odor problems.
  Finally, she sued, contending that the poor evaluations were due to her
 demands that the company accommodate her disability. Ms. Shaw's attorney,
 Mr. Boynton, a 56-year-old rehabilitation counselor who had recently earned
 his law degree, knew the case was a long shot. "I told her the law was
 against us, and the facts were against us," he says.
  Under the ADA, some temporary and intermittent conditions have not been
 interpreted as disabilities. Moreover, the law says employees punished for
 legitimate reasons as well as discriminatory ones can't collect damages or
 be ordered reinstated. Mr. Boynton concedes fearing that Ms. Shaw's
 attendance problems would be considered a legitimate reason for the negative
 evaluations even if her odor were deemed a disability.
  In August, a federal jury in San Francisco heard the case. Ms. Shaw, who
 couldn't afford to spend money for depositions or medical witnesses, spent
 hours on the stand answering Citicorp lawyers' questions, such as "Where do
 you put your dirty clothes?" and "Is it true you wore a skirt to work you'd
 scrubbed the toilet with the night before?" At first taking the latter
 question as a joke, she laughed and then said no.
  Citicorp officials emphasized her lack of medical evidence and said her
 odor vanished once she got a final warning that she improve her hygiene or
 be fired. (Ms. Shaw, who will be leaving Citicorp in December when the
 company closes its San Mateo branch, says she suspects that she continued to
 smell but that her bosses just stopped telling her about it.)
  "Oh, how I wanted her to break out with it before the jury," says Mr.
 Boynton, who was making his federal-court debut. But the aroma never
 erupted. After three days of hearings, the jury deliberated less than two
 hours and sided with Citicorp.
  Ernest Willmore, the jury foreman, says the jurors kept wondering whether
 the case was "for real." After the trial, he says, they asked the judge how
 such a case had made it so far. The reason, the judge explained, was that
 the ADA was mostly untested. "I thought it was a waste of taxpayers' time,"
 Mr. Willmore says.


**************************************
New IBM PCs Unlikely         To Lift Share Until '95
  NEW YORK -- International Business Machines Corp. unveiled its new
 business-oriented personal computers yesterday but said it probably won't
 regain market share until well into next year -- due in part to the effects
 of a revamping intended to boost sales.
  "We haven't been running all engines under full speed," said G. Richard
 Thoman, the senior vice president who oversees IBM Personal Computer Co.
  Speaking at a news conference, he cited the unit's "swift and significant
 reconstruction," adding that "we needed to swallow this bitter pill whole
 this year" -- referring to the layoffs, consolidations and product
 rebranding he has imposed since taking his post in January.
  One consequence is that IBM probably won't boost its market share until
 sometime next year, said William McCracken, general manager of IBM's
 PC-manufacturing operations. That means it is likely to end the year in
 fourth place in U.S. PC sales.
  Indeed, IBM already is sold out to retailers through year's end of its new
 Aptiva line of home PCs, though they are still available in stores. It is
 possible that the lines unveiled yesterday will be in short supply,
 executives said.
  Mr. Thoman said he hadn't set a schedule for IBM to regain its historic top
 spot in PC market share. The former RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. executive
 said he considered it more important to boost revenue and profit, rather
 than the unit-sale figure used to gauge market share.
  Analyst Don Young of Lehman Brothers Inc. said it is understandable that
 Mr. Thoman wasn't focused on building market share "when he's still putting
 out all those fires." But he added that he was "taken aback" by how
 conservative IBM was in planning Aptiva production. IBM has been similarly
 cautious in planning its new products, to avoid getting stuck with excess
 inventory.
  IBM also must navigate a tricky transition from older models -- sold under
 the PS/2, PS/1, and ValuePoint names -- to the new ones. Its business line
 is now named simply IBM PC. IBM will continue selling some older models well
 into next year, perhaps limiting demand for the new machines and confusing
 buyers.
  The new IBM PC line is divided into the "value" 300 series, priced at
 $1,140 to $2,829, and the corporate-oriented 700 series, priced at $2,559 to
 $4,295. None of the machines will be available until Nov. 17, and some won't
 be shipped until early next year, IBM said, further limiting their potential
 for boosting market share soon.
  Mr. Thoman said only 40% of sales in the current fourth quarter will come
 from the new models.


**************************************
Tandy Enjoys Comeback -2-:   High-Tech And Retailing Rivals
  Some skeptics note that even with the rebound, Tandy's performance has
 lagged far behind that of many of the high-tech and retailing rivals that
 raced past it while Mr. Roach pondered his turnaround plans. A $100
 investment in Tandy at the beginning of 1986, when the company was still
 robust and its shares were trading in the $40 range, would be worth $104.60
 today, excluding dividends. The same bet on computer maker Compaq Computer
 Corp. or retail rival Best Buy Co. would be worth $1,630.19 or $1,194.83
 respectively. The same investment in Apple Computer Inc., which has had its
 own troubles lately, would be worth $361.36 today.
  Even Tandy admirers can't help dwelling on what might have been: Tandy once
 was king of personal-computer retailing and manufacturing, and some
 observers believe it squandered a unique opportunity to dominate both ends
 of the personal-computer market.
  When Mr. Roach took charge in 1980, following the sudden death of founder
 Charles Tandy, Tandy seemed perfectly positioned take advantage of the
 personal-computer craze. From coast to coast, Tandy had Radio Shack outlets
 billed as "America's Technology Store."
  Tandy also had a manufacturing head start, thanks largely to Mr. Roach. A
 physics and mathematics whiz who joined Tandy in 1967 as head of data
 processing, Mr. Roach loves gadgets; as he rose, he helped develop new
 high-tech products, including personal computers.
  Consequently, in the early days of the PC, Tandy became a development
 powerhouse, producing the first popular home computer, the TRS-80, and one
 of the first laptops ever. Selling those products out of Radio Shack, Tandy
 was the nation's largest personal-computer maker and seller through the
 early 1980s. By 1986, it was second only to International Business Machines
 Corp. in PC market share. Mr. Roach was on such a roll that he even held
 private talks with Compaq about acquiring it, Compaq executives say. (Tandy
 won't comment.)
  But Tandy made some crucial mistakes. First, it tried to stick to its own
 proprietary operating system, the software that controls the basic functions
 of a computer, without investing enough in software and marketing to keep
 pace with rivals, mainly Apple and IBM.
  Tandy tried to address that problem partly by creating a hybrid computer
 that was partially compatible with IBM PCs. It flopped; most consumers
 wanted total IBM compatibility, so they could run the full array of
 IBM-compatible software. Upstarts like Dell Computer Corp. took off by
 making inexpensive IBM clones, and Compaq was gobbling up chunks of the
 business market. By 1992, Tandy was an also-ran.
  Trouble came on the retailing side, as well. Radio Shack lost market share
 as electronics superstores, mail-order houses and discounters like Wal-Mart
 jumped into computer retailing. They not only had bigger stores or stocks,
 they boasted more brands-because Mr. Roach insisted that Radio Shack sell
 only Tandy computers.
  All in all, in the attempt to both make and sell PCs, "they focused in two
 directions and ended up cross-eyed," says Lise Buyer, an analyst at T. Rowe
 Price Associates Inc. Last year, Tandy sold its computer manufacturing
 business to AST Research Inc. for just $115 million, and took a $70 million
 write-down.
  As Tandy stumbled, there was little question where the buck stopped. A
 hands-on CEO, Mr. Roach concerns himself with the smallest details, even
 proofreading Radio Shack newspaper ads every week. So involved in Tandy is
 he that he waves off questions about his personality by saying: "I don't
 have a separate identity from the company."


**************************************
Pen-Based Computers Appear   In Unlikely Workplaces
  Teachers, nurses and waitresses use the newfangled devices, which allow
 them to write on their screens. In Apopka, Fla., first-grade teacher
 Larrilee Rich carries the slim computer to class, tracking students'
 performance. Michele Hoffman, a nurse, says the machines eliminate
 "professional lint," the scraps of paper she would put in her pocket about
 her patients' progress.
  Many workers use the pen like a mouse, checking items off a list more often
 than taking notes. They find the computers make them more efficient and
 organized. "We do the same work now in 40% of the time we used to," says
 Donald Kelly, assistant state auditor in Alabama, who uses the machines to
 track inventories.
  The market for pen-based computers is still tiny, with fewer than 200,000
 machines in use.


**************************************
Strange Health Complaints    About The Office Are No Joke
  Workers gripe about office lights sunburning their heads, electromagnetic
 fields causing temporary insanity, and poor indoor air quality triggering
 memory loss, a survey by the International Facilities Management Association
 shows. Some even have blamed the shadow of ceiling-fan movements for their
 nausea. But even odd gripes can have merit, says group President Bill
 Gregory.
  In one Atlanta office, where workers reported frequent headaches, outside
 vents were too close to sewer vents. "If people find something's wrong in
 the office, you don't take that lightly," says Mr. Gregory, noting that
 ignoring a few worries can lead to an officewide panic. Half of all workers'
 compensation complaints, meanwhile, now involve cumulative trauma disorders.
  Proposed OSHA regulations on indoor air quality sicken some managers, one
 of whom recently complained the government wants "to ventilate the building
 until it's a wind tunnel."


**************************************
HP to port mechanical design software to Silicon Graphics workstati
PALO ALTO, CALIF. -Oct. 18, 1994-- Hewlett-Packard
Company and Silicon Graphics, Inc. today announced that they have signed an
agreement whereby HP will port its mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD)
software to Silicon Graphics workstations. The products are HP Precision
Engineering (PE)/ME10, 2-D design, drafting and documentation software; HP
PE/SolidDesigner, solid modeling software; and HP PE/WorkManager, product-data
and workflow management software. 
HP's MCAD software now will be available on workstations from HP, Silicon
Graphics and Sun as well as on IBM-compatible PCs. 
The porting gives customers greater choice in configuring a mechanical CAD
network. 
"The agreement reflects a general trend in the mechanical-design industry for
software packages to be available on as many different hardware platforms as
possible," said Robert F. Simpson, marketing manager for HP's Mechanical
Design Division (MDD).  "For mission-critical manufacturing applications,
customers now expect the software of their choice to run on the hardware of
their choice." 
Today's agreement will further strengthen HP's commitment to open systems and
its position as a mechanical-CAD software supplier.  The company already has
shipped 50,000 copies of the Precision Engineering family of software
solutions for design, drafting and documentation in 2-D and solid modeling. 
The new products, which are expected to be available in the first quarter of
1995, will include support for Silicon Graphics' OpenGL(1) application
programmers interface (API) and Open Inventor file format. 
"PE/SolidDesigner is a natural complement to Silicon Graphics' desktop systems,
which have been designed expressly for solids modeling," said David Ny,
director of engineering applications for Silicon Graphics, Inc.  "By employing
the OpenGL API and Open Inventor format, PE/SolidDesigner will run at peak
performance on Silicon Graphics' systems, have full access to Silicon
Graphics' industry-leading collaborative computing tools, and will be portable
to other platforms compatible with the OpenGL API." 
To distribute the new products, HP plans to recruit channel partners with
expertise in Silicon Graphics platforms who can offer complementary 
applications for PE/SolidDesigner and PE/ME10. 
"Aided by close cooperation between HP's Mechanical Design Division and 
Silicon Graphics, we shall be implementing entirely new channels to pursue
additional market segments," said Simpson. 
This announcement is part of MDD's strategy as an Independent Software Vendor
(ISV).  To support the ISV strategy, HP has created a distribution program
designed to provide customers with an HP software solution on a broader range
of computing platforms.  This program, which is hardware-independent, consists
of a software-only sales force and value-added resellers (VARs).  These VARs
sell turnkey systems of mechanical-design software bundled with HP or Silicon
Graphics workstations. 
HP's Mechanical Design Division (MDD) develops 2-D and 3-D mechanical 
computer-aided design software, the Precision Engineering Systems known for
quality, ease of use, customization capability and support of industry
standards.  These products are installed on over 50,000 systems in design,
engineering and manufacturing organizations worldwide and are localized in 10
languages.  The software includes HP PE/SolidDesigner for product-modeling
design; HP PE/ME10 for 2-D design, drafting and documentation; HP PE/ME30 for
3-D modeling, design and drafting; HP PE/SheetAdvisor for sheet-metal design;
HP PE/DDS-C for electromechanical design; and HP/PE WorkManager for
product-data and workflow management. 


**************************************
AMERICA ONLINE NOW MOST POPULAR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER; COMPANY 
WIDE WEB SITE FOR VAST
                  AUDIENCE OF INTERNET USERS
    Also Introduces Enhancements to Internet Connection on AOL
     VIENNA, Va., Oct. 18 - America Online, Inc. (Nasdaq-NNM:
AMER), announced today that it has taken the lead in the rapidly growing
Internet market by becoming the most popular Internet service provider.  In
addition, the Company announced that it plans to establish a World Wide Web
(WWW) Internet site, featuring a selection of screens and content from the
Company's popular consumer online service, as well as direct access to AOL
software and trial.  The Company also announced new enhancements to its
existing Internet Connection on America Online.
America Online was the first online service to offer simple and affordable
access to content of the Internet, when it introduced its Internet Connection
on AOL last year.  Since that time, the activity level of its more than 1
million subscribers has propelled the service to the position of the most
popular Internet service provider.  With access to over 12,000 Newsgroups,
America Online's subscribers post more than any other site.  AOL also gives
subscribers access to over 6000 databases, and handles more than 15 million
pieces of Internet mail per month. 
"As a result of our subscribers' enthusiastic response to our initial Internet
offering, we are now the nation's leading Internet provider," said Steve Case,
president and CEO of America Online, Inc. "With our planned enhancements that
we are announcing today, we are positioning AOL to be the 'on ramp' for
millions of Americans." 
The Company announced plans to introduce a WWW site, which will allow Internet
users to get a "taste" of America Online, by accessing a selection of screens
and content for free.  In addition, for the first time ever, America Online
will make its software and a trial membership available for downloading by a
vast audience of Internet-only users, representing a significant expansion of
America Online's reach. 
"Until now, America Online's Internet presence has been 'one way' -- AOL 
subscribers have had access to Internet content, but Internet-only users have
not had a way to access or view services from AOL," Case added. "By
establishing a WWW site on the Internet, and including AOL software and trial
membership, we are reaching out to the market of Internet-only users who can
simply, and without delay, experience the magic of America Online." 
Case continued:  "As a matter of practice, we have done more than any other
site on the 'Net to educate and inform our subscribers about the Internet, and
we will continue to move forward with sensitivity as we bring these two
rapidly growing communities together." 
The Company also announced that it has made available several enhancements to
its Internet Connection on America Online.  Enhancements include the preview
of FTP capabilities, which will give America Online subscribers the ability to
easily search and retrieve files from tens of thousands of FTP sites, or
"software libraries" residing on the Internet worldwide.   The Company plans
to expand its FTP support over the coming months to provide more editorial
value.  In addition, the Company announced enhancements to its USENET
Newsgroups, including "reply to author" and "mark as read/unread."  These
enhancements are in response to subscriber feedback received since Newsgroups
were first made available earlier this year, and serve to enhance the process
of reviewing and posting replies.  The Company said future Internet plans 
include the introduction of a WWW browser, in which America Online will 
leverage its expertise in easy and intuitive interface design, and the 
addition of telnet capabilities, both planned for this winter. 


**************************************
AMERICA ONLINE SHIPS NEW MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE; ADDS CONTENT, EASIER
ENHANCED GRAPHICS, EXPANDS CONFERENCING  Mailing to More Than 1 Million
Subscribers Includes Kit for Friends
     VIENNA, Va., Oct. 18  -- America Online Inc. (Nasdaq-NNM:
AMER), announced today it has begun shipping its new multimedia interface to
its more than 1 million subscribers, including a companion kit for subscribers
to pass along to their friends.  The new interface is the latest in a series
of moves by the Company to take advantage of growing consumer demand for the
popular online service.
The new software represents the first change to America Online's overall 
"look and feel" since the product was first launched in 1989.  A major step
toward seamlessly integrating text, photos, graphics and sound, the new
multimedia interface is expected to continue to evolve and to adopt an even
more engaging look, as partners embrace new capabilities to enrich their
online areas over the coming months. 
"We've taken our popular interface and enhanced it to make the best online
service even better.  We did extensive usability testing for the new interface
and consumers were delighted with the ease-of-use and new look and feel of the
new multimedia version," said Steve Case, President and CEO of America Online.
"By including a companion kit for a friend, we're recognizing the important
role positive word of mouth has in the success of America Online.  The result
is a dual benefit for our subscribers -- they now can enjoy a more engaging
service, and they can use the companion kit we're providing to expand their
circle of friends and associates on America Online." 
The Company has also expanded its content, added easier navigational features
and enhanced viewing of graphics.  Highlights include the addition of 5 new
departments -- Kids Only, Sports, Internet Connection, Personal Finance,
Reference Desk as well as a new Post Office Center which hosts all
mail-related functions such as fax, mailgram, Internet gateway, and other
electronic mail-related features.  Also, easier navigation is available with
an updated Main Menu screen and 3 new buttons -- main menu, member services,
and index of the department -- on each department screen. 
America Online has expanded its theater district, Center Stage, where 
thousands of AOL members gather to meet and interact in real-time "events"
with well known personalities.  This area has been enhanced to provide 4
auditoriums -- Coliseum, Odeon, Globe and Rotunda -- providing access to up to
4000 members each night, with plans to continue to increase capacity as the
subscriber base grows. 
The Company's expanded graphics capability enables AOL subscribers to 
simultaneously view and save color photographs and graphics, and enabling AOL
partners to enrich their online areas through the use of compressed images and
graphics.   Using new compression technology licensed from Johnson-Grace, a
privately held multimedia technology development company, images are
transmitted on AOL considerably faster than on other online services. 


**************************************
Computers' Productivity Role Said Hard To Measure
  WASHINGTON  Computers have a wide-ranging effect on the American
 economy yet that impact is difficult to measure, an economist at The
 Brookings Institution told the National Economists Club today. 
  While the number of computers sold does not represent a large share of
 fixed net capital stock (about 2% currently), computers are four and
 one-half times more productive than any other capital investment, said
 Daniel E. Sichel, an economist at Brookings. 
  But standard measures for productivity don't always capture that, said
 Sichel, who discussed the relationship between comptuers and growth to
 assess prospects for productivity gains in the 1990s. 
  ''The puzzle is we're just not measuring what computers do,'' Sichel said,
 suggesting that current evaluation methods capture about half of computers'
 productivity abilities. 
  For example, it's difficult to measure the convenience of an automatic
 teller machine, which allows customers to check balances, make withdrawals
 and deposits at any time of the day, yet the machine saves all involved
 money and time. 
  Sichel predicted that while computers will continue to grow in popularity
 with businesses and individuals, he doubted the emerging ''information
 superhighway' will cause the dramatic changes in the economy some have
 suggested. 
  ''There's a lot of hype out there,'' he said. 


**************************************
Deluxe Opens a Store for PC Users On the Information Superhighway  
ST. PAUL, Minn. Oct. 19  Deluxe Business Systems has
launched what it says is the most extensive electronic catalog over the global
web of computer networks known as the Internet. 
The division of Deluxe Corp., which is a leading printer of checks and other
business documents, said any of 2,000 products can be viewed and ordered
on-line. 
"Our goal was to create an on-line electronic ordering process that was easy
and convenient for the personal computer user," said Arnold Angeloni, 
president of Deluxe Business Systems. The electronic offerings include forms,
checks, software, and office supplies. 
"Our catalog is especially designed for the small-business owner or 
home-office person who would find the 24-hour access and round-the-clock order
opportunities a major convenience," Mr. Angeloni said. 
The Deluxe catalog uses the Mosaic interface, which simplifies access to the
Internet and allows for browsing using Windows-like procedures. 
After dialing into the deluxe.com address, users see a menu of 18 icons 
offering access to product groups, an index, and a guide to frequently asked
questions. The catalog also has interactive features: Users can have questions
answered on-line and can pay for purchases by completing an on- screen order
form and entering a credit card number. To protect the card numbers, Deluxe
will use encryption to scramble the data. 


**************************************
AOL's selling of membership lists revives concerns about privacy   
Do you expect to be anonymous wherever you go on-line? You're not. Do you
believe the big computer on the other end can track your every move? It can. 
Does the company that owns that network, the same company that sends you a
bill for your time, have the right to tell others what it knows about you? 
America Online's million-plus members are grappling with just that question
after service president Steve Case informed them the company would now
''rent'' its membership list to direct-mail marketers. In the process, AOL has
touched on the dark fears many have about using an on-line service, that by
doing so they are somehow opening themselves to intrusion in very personal
matters. 
How many people haven't ventured into a chat area or discussion board on the
assurance no one would ever know? Think about all that's sitting on your
computer hard drive: your checkbook, personal correspondence, maybe a few
graphics files that you'd rather people not know you've downloaded. 
What AOL actually proposed to do _ selling its customer list _ is nothing new,
mind you. Companies have been doing it for years, based on warranty
registration cards. Other networks have been too. 
But Case walked right into a buzz saw of controversy with his announcement to
members Oct. 1. 
Those who wanted off the list had to go to a new section on-line (keyword
Marketing Prefs) and fill out an electronic form. It was all rather innocuous,
deep in a monthly update to members on upcoming new features. 
Three days later Case got a rude awakening from U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, 
D-Mass. The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and 
Finance questioned whether AOL members had been adequately notified of the
network's intention to sell their names, addresses and computer preferences. 
They hadn't. And Case quickly conceded as much. 
Members' first inkling came at the start of October. But AOL was advertising
its list to the direct mail industry in September, for $100 per thousand. 
''In retrospect, I think we made some mistakes,'' Case said in an Oct. 6 
follow-up letter to members. Topping the list was failure to tell members up
front. 
The other big problem is that AOL, in essence, is forcing members to take
action if they don't want to be listed. In any other situation, you have the
choice up front. 
When CompuServe members enroll, they're asked specifically if they want to be
included in mailing lists. They don't have to learn a keyword and search out
the option if they want off. Only 5 percent say no, according to CompuServe.
But the point is that everyone is asked. 
Prodigy, GEnie and Imagination Network all have strict policies precluding the
sale of member information. But that doesn't mean they're above the fray. 
For years Prodigy has battled rumors that the service was somehow examining
the files kept on members' hard drives. The rumor started when people took a
close look at a file created in sign-up called stage.dat. 
The reality is the file is just reserved space for software upgrades on 
members' hard drives. But in reserving the space for its customers, Prodigy
doesn't erase the old information. So people were finding pieces of their old
letters, spread sheets and other files. 
GEnie, which is pushing hard to join the big three networks, can track a 
member's movements at all times on-line. Spokeswoman Barb Byro says the 
information is used only if a customer asks for an audit to justify a bill.
It's never used for marketing, internally or externally, she says. 
It's not all that different from catalog merchants who sell lists detailing
what kinds of stuff you buy or how much you spend. But on-line services know
they're playing under a different set of rules, says Mark Walsh, GEnie's
president and chairman of the Interactive Services Association. 
''While we can track every step you take on-line, if we should is a very gray
issue,'' he says. 
Most privacy laws were written long before electronic mail and on-line 
services were conceived. While we're struggling with these issues, the 
cyberspace terrain is changing so rapidly that new issues crop up daily. 
There are promises of on-line agents _ electronic workers that reflect our
interests and work around the clock gathering news and updating our financial
portfolios. But who owns the agents and that personal information? Consumers
demand easier interfaces, which require more automated conversations between
the PC and the network computer. Does the network have to tell us every
question it's asking our PC? 
The real problem is that society has never been down a road like this before. 
''We are blazing complete new trails in the psyche of the American consumer,''
Walsh says. ''It's better that we have this kind of discussion and examine all
our goals now, rather than later.'' 


**************************************
Prodigy on-line forum promises women a nice cyberspace             
Women who venture into cyberspace often are unhappy about what they find.
Sign onto America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy with a female name, 
visit a chat area and you run the risk of being assaulted with come-ons or
sexist taunts. 
A Prodigy forum called the Women's Leadership Connection aims to change that
and, at the same time, provide an on-line gathering place with a variety of
resources for women. 
Working with groups ranging from the Girl Scouts to the National Conference of
State Legislators, Prodigy's Women's Leadership Connection will offer news
about women, reference materials for women and bulletin boards focusing on
women's issues. Topics will range from politics to tips for female business
owners. 
''Women have always been excellent networkers,'' said Susan Williams DeFife, a
forum organizer. ''But, until today, there has been no separate forum on any
major on-line service devoted to women.'' 
Actually, other locales in cyberspace aim to be female-friendly. Most notably,
a small San Francisco-based on-line service called Women's Wire provides about
1,300 computer users with discussion groups and information about women's
issues, including health, parenting and finance. 
But WLC stands to reach a much broader audience, since Prodigy is the largest
on-line service, with about 900,000 female members. 
Men will be admitted to the forum, but WLC will have a strict anti-harassment
policy. 
The drawback to WLC is the cost _ $7 a month, which is added to the monthly
fees already charged by Prodigy, which range from $7.95 to $14.95 per month.
The WLC price includes two free hours of usage per month, with additional
hours billed at $3.60 per hour. Regular users may find that their bills will
climb. 
Privacy is a huge and largely unexplored issue that looms over the growth of
the information superhighway. If, in the not too distant future, TV viewers
and computer users will shop, play games, order videos, learn and communicate
with each other over cable or phone lines, what privacy protection will they
have? 
Recently, America Online provoked a minor outcry when it was revealed that it
was selling mailing lists of its members. 
America Online isn't alone in trying to make money off the information it has
about members. Prodigy will allow other companies to send electronic mail to
selected groups of its members. And CompuServe also sells its member lists. 
But all the on-line services say they do not tell what members do on-line. 
The potential risk to privacy, however, remains high. Anyone with access to
the computers of the on-line service could learn about members' political
opinions, stock holdings, sexual preferences, medical problems or, more
mundanely, find out what kind of computer or software a member owns. A
potential employer, for example, could scan an individual's on-line activities
and learn all kinds of things that job interviews don't turn up. 
Legally, there's no privacy protection for users of the on-line services. But
several members of Congress say they are planning to draft legislation that
would require on-line companies to inform members if their activities are
being monitored. 
FOR MORE INFORMATION: The Women's Leadership Connection is found on Prodigy,
which can be reached by calling 1-800-776-3449. America Online can be reached
by calling 1-800-827-6364, and CompuServe can be reached by calling
1-800-848-8199. You can contact Marc Gunther on CompuServe (72662,2512), on
America Online (marcgu) or through the Internet at marcg''at''well.sf.ca.us. 


**************************************
New to computers? Step softly when buying for your business        
MIAMI _ It may be the age of the information superhighway, but some firms
haven't gotten out of the parking lot. 
Everyone uses computers, you say? Tell that to Sandra Adams. A computer 
consultant, she sees prospective clients in such places as the law firm that
still uses an electric typewriter. 
''When I talk megabyte and RAM, they look at me like I'm talking Greek, ''
says Adams, president of Strategic Micro Partners in Coconut Grove, Fla. 
Computerspeak can indeed sound like a foreign language to a regular stiff who
just wants the darn machines to help make the profits grow. 
That's why, before anything else, a small company must be clear about its
needs. Know what you want to accomplish with the computer system and software,
or forget about buying them in a cost-effective manner. 
Yet it's not unusual for a client to insist on particular software, a popular
spreadsheet program such as Lotus 1-2-3, for example. 
''People are ready to buy it,'' Adams says. ''They have no clue what it is,
but their brother-in-law said, 'You have to buy it.''' 
That approach can have expensive consequences. One business owner Adams knows
paid $800 for PageMaker, a complicated desktop publishing program, because she
wanted to offer newsletter services. No one on staff knew how to use it. Three
years later, a new employee has the skills, but the company must pay more to
bring the software up to date. 
Be realistic. What activities are most important for your business? What tasks
are most time-consuming and repetitive? 
Word processing would surely help the law firm with the electric typewriter.
So would a good accounting and billing system for tracking receivables. 
For a custom boat builder with only three big sales in a year, however, the
key is a system for controlling expenses, Adams says. A firm that has already
quoted a price for the finished product must monitor what it pays vendors,
subcontractors and suppliers _ or there may be no profit in the end. 
People may start out saying they just want a computer for the kids to use,
says Angela Mitchell, vice president of marketing for Prism Technologies in
Sunrise. Then they ask about a CD-ROM drive (to read compact discs, which are
similar to music CDs but store huge amounts of data). Next come questions
about tracking customers, sending mass mailings, lists and more. 
It's easy to go overboard. An infinite number of programs and gadgets promise
to make your sales, marketing, scheduling, planning, payroll _ you name it _
more efficient. 
Then there's the fun stuff: games, electronic mail, video and graphics 
capabilities, databases galore. 
Remember though, that costs will vary wildly, based on the choices you make. 
A two-person firm may pay as little as $1,399 for a personal computer with
software basics, Mitchell says. Yet a retail store may spend more than $6,000
to track sales, inventory, accounts payable and receivables. Add more computer
users, communications equipment, power, memory and storage, and the price
keeps climbing. 
But cost shouldn't be the only consideration. Think ahead. You may want to pay
more now for a system that can grow along with the business. Look for
compatibility, too. The greatest software will do you little good if it can't
work with your laser printer. 
In deciding where to buy, think about the support you'll receive. Ask about
warranties and service. Will your vendor give you a loaner should, perish the
thought, your hard drive crash in the middle of tax season? 
''It's an investment,'' Mitchell says. ''And of course it depends on where you
are in the growth curve of your business. You have to be ready for it.'' 
If you are electronically inclined, you may want to do your own research and
buy from a computer superstore. But don't expect the store to unbox the
computer and install the software. 
Value added resellers like Adams and Mitchell may charge more. They also offer
expertise, install systems and provide ongoing training. Like a good
accountant or lawyer, a systems consultant can save you time and headaches but
should be chosen with equal care. 
Don't expect the expense to end after the initial investment, either. Count on
ongoing expenses, such as software and hardware upgrades and training for new
staffers. 
Keep in mind that computers can reduce costs, help sales grow and make your
small firm look like a Fortune 500 member. But the system won't create a
customer list that doesn't already exist, or make profitable a product sold
under cost. 
''The computer system and the software are tools,'' Adams says. ''They are not
a substitute for people, or for organizing your disorganization.'' 


**************************************
Advanced Micro Calls New     K5 Chip Faster Than Pentium
  BURLINGAME, Calif. -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. disclosed the first
 technical details of a chip called K5 that is designed to compete with
 Pentium, the flagship product of rival Intel Corp, The Wall Street Journal
 reported.
  AMD said at a technical conference here that K5 will operate at least 30%
 faster than a comparable Pentium model. But it will fit in the same socket
 as the latest models of the Intel chip, giving AMD an advantage over
 competing chips that will require computer makers to change circuit boards
 to accommodate their products.
  For previous products, AMD created precise clones of the internal circuitry
 on Intel chips. K5 is AMD's first completely original design, an important
 step in reducing the company's exposure to copyright suits from Intel.
  The K5 gets its speed by completing four instructions for each tick of the
 internal clock that regulates computing activity on a chip. Pentium carries
 out two instructions in the same period. Michael Slater, publisher of
 Microprocessor Report and organizer of the conference, said 30% appears to
 be a conservative estimate of K5's performance advantage.
  But AMD has yet to produce working samples of the chip. It does not expect
 volume production until the third quarter of next year, by which time Intel
 may have added faster Pentiums to its product line. Computer makers are
 likely to extensively test K5 to satisfy themselves that AMD's chip is truly
 compatible with the software that runs on Intel's, analysts said.


**************************************
Inventor Of Phone Software   Dubbed `Magic' Is Arrested
  WASHINGTON -- Federal agents arrested Clinton Lee Watson, a Silicon Valley
 consultant believed by authorities to be a kingpin in the world of cellular
 telephone fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported.
  Mr. Watson, 44 years old, is the alleged inventor of software that created
 the counterfeit "lifetime" or "magic" phone, according to Assistant U.S.
 Attorney Carlos Singh in San Jose, Calif. He was charged with possessing
 "cloned" cellular phones with the intent to sell them, as well as altered
 cellular phone computer chips.
  The lifetime phone allows users to illegally charge cellular calls to
 legitimate subscribers. To avoid detection, users can reprogram the phone
 with new billing numbers by tapping codes on the phone's own keypad.
  Mr. Watson's son, Mark, and Dwayne Sweet were also charged with using
 cloned phones. The arrests followed an April raid at the Watson home.
 Federal agents, with assistance of the San Jose police department, seized
 cloned computer chips and cloned phones, as well as some 600 cellular
 telephone identification numbers used for billing calls.
  The "lifetime" phones, with a street value of $1,200 to $1,500 each, have
 turned up in cities across the U.S., said Tom Maclure, of the Cellular
 Telecommunications Industry Association.


**************************************
Intel Set To Announce        $500M Expansion
  SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Intel Corp. is expected today to announce a $500
 million expansion of its manufacturing operations here, The Wall Street
 Journal reported.
  The semiconductor maker has been dramatically expanding its manufacturing
 capacity to meet demand for microprocessor chips, spending nearly $7 billion
 on new plants and equipment in the past five years. It has previously
 announced expansion of operations in New Mexico, Arizona and Oregon.

**************************************
Micron Plans Plant That Will Double Chip-Making Capacity
  Micron Technology Inc., which two years ago rocketed out of the potato
 fields outside Boise, Idaho, to become one of the most profitable companies
 in the U.S., disclosed ambitious plans to continue its rapid growth.
  The company said it plans to build a $1.3 billion plant in the next three
 to four years that will more than double its current chip-making capacity.
 While its roots are in Boise, Micron is soliciting other cities and states
 to see who's interested in providing a site for the mammoth facility.
  In the early 1990s, Micron generated robust sales growth from selling
 dynamic random access memory chips, or DRAMs, which are essential parts in
 all desktop computers. But it struggled to achieve profitability, eking out
 net profit margins of barely 1% of sales. In late 1992, however, Micron's
 profits began to grow at an enormous rate, as it completed state-of-the-art
 facilities outside Boise and the PC industry's boom accelerated.
  Its net income jumped to $400.5 million, or $3.80 a share, for the fiscal
 year ended Aug. 30. The year before, it had earned $104.1 million, or $1.03
 a share, and the three years before that, it averaged net of $5.5 million.
 In the last two fiscal years, sales more than tripled to $1.63 billion. Its
 net margin of 24.6% now rivals or exceeds that of the most successful
 high-technology giants, such as Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. Micron's
 stock jumped sevenfold from mid-1992 to early 1994.
  But the stock has fallen about 25% in the past three months because of
 fears that DRAM prices will fall as more producers expand their own plants.
 Moreover, Micron's three top executives resigned last month. Neither they
 nor Micron have provided any reason for the departures, though analysts
 speculated that they were related to disagreements with Micron's biggest
 shareholder, potato king J.R. Simplot, who supposedly favored slower
 expansion that didn't involve equity financing for the company.
  But people familiar with Micron's operations assert that there was no such
 disagreement, citing the plan to build the new plant as evidence that Mr.
 Simplot backs rapid expansion, and that equity placements aren't needed to
 do it. Micron's director of investor relations, Kipp Bedard, wouldn't
 comment on the resignations, but said yesterday that Micron intends to
 finance the plant with internal cash flow, and perhaps advances from major
 customers and lease financing. "We don't see equity financing right now," he
 said.
  Micron's stock closed at $33.50, unchanged, in New York Stock Exchange
 composite trading yesterday.


**************************************
MICROSOFT AND RABBIT EARS TO PRODUCE MULTIMEDIA STORYBOOK SERIES   
      Award-Winning Children's Stories Brought Home to the PC 
     REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 19 - Microsoft Corporation today 
announced it has entered into an agreement with Rabbit Ears Productions to
produce a series of multimedia storybooks on CD-ROM for preschoolers and young
school-age children.  The series, for children between the ages of 4 and 9,
will be based on classic tales marketed by Rabbit Ears in its successful line
of videos, books and audiotapes.  Rabbit Ears is an award-winning family
entertainment company acclaimed for bringing the talents of famous actors and
musicians to children's storytelling. Microsoft is developing the multimedia
titles and will market them under both the Microsoft(R) Home and the Rabbit
Ears(R) brand names.  The first story in the multimedia series, slated for
January 1995 availability, is "How the Leopard Got His Spots."  Based on one
of the classic Rudyard Kipling "Just So Stories," it is narrated by actor Danny
Glover and features music by the renowned South African a cappella ensemble
Ladysmith Black Mambazo. 
Rabbit Ears has won critical acclaim and business success by producing 
children's classics narrated by actors, with original soundtracks performed by
leading musicians and imagery by accomplished illustrators. 
Rabbit Ears is currently producing four prime-time specials for PBS. The
first, "Celebrating Storytelling, with Danny Glover," premiers Oct. 26.  One
of the featured presentations within the show will be the video version of
"How the Leopard Got His Spots." Rabbit Ears' productions also include radio
programming, a weekly newspaper feature, and a line of educational products
for elementary-school classrooms. 
  
     Microsoft Partners 
     "We are delighted to be developing multimedia titles with Rabbit Ears,
whose dedication to artistic quality is truly impressive," said Patty
Stonesifer, vice president of the consumer division at Microsoft. "By
selecting top performers, matching their talents to a classic tale, and
integrating literature, art and music, Rabbit Ears expands the art of
storytelling.  The Microsoft team has added value to this rich material by
exploiting the unique capabilities of multimedia to create a new genre of
interactive stories." 
Mark Grayson, Rabbit Ears president, added, "We are thrilled to be working
with Microsoft to develop our stories in multimedia CD-ROM formats. 
Storytelling was originally an interactive experience in which all members of
a family or group participated with laughter, games, questions, comments, and
stories of their own.  It was the method by which one generation transmitted
life's important lessons to the next. Microsoft has enriched Rabbit Ears'
classic story series with activities that truly recapture the essence of the
storytelling experience for today's families.  Through learning traditional
African games like Mancala or watching video of children in South Africa, 'How
the Leopard Got His Spots' becomes a magical reading adventure for every
child." 
The Microsoft and Rabbit Ears collaboration complements the Microsoft Home
brand tradition of forging alliances with stellar companies, such as
Scholastic (Magic School Bus), Children's Television Workshop and Reader's
Digest, to make the best-quality software content available to home users. 
  
     Multimedia Adventure 
     "How the Leopard Got His Spots" takes children on an entertaining and
enlightening multicultural reading adventure by using multimedia to motivate
kids to play and learn within the story.  This title's rich multimedia world
encourages children to discover exciting visuals, wacky animations, funny
sounds and hidden surprises as they explore the brightly colored illustrations
of African wildlife, people and terrain. In addition, children can increase
their reading and comprehension skills by following highlighted phrases as
they are read, by having more difficult key words defined cleverly with
pictures, words and animation, or by clicking individual words in the story to
hear the pronunciation. The software also engages children more deeply in the
story by introducing them to valuable concepts -- such as how animals
camouflage themselves -- as well as by encouraging them to explore the culture,
music and animal-life of Africa through interactive games and activities. 
In the P.J. Rabbit(TM)'s Hole interactive area, children can discover 
multimedia mini-books that bring to life the career of author Rudyard Kipling,
information about the illustrator and her process, and South African history
through video, audio and photographs.  The rich interactive environment
provides an opportunity for children (and adults) to spend endless hours
exploring the story.  "How the Leopard Got His Spots" will be available on
CD-ROM for the Windows(TM) operating system in early 1995 for approximately
$49.95 and on CD-ROM for the Macintosh(R) later in the year. 
  
     Children's Classic Tales 
     The Rabbit Ears collection currently includes more than 50 titles created
for print, audio and video, including "Koi and the Kola Nuts," narrated by
Whoopi Goldberg with music soundtrack by Herbie Hancock; "Paul Bunyan,"
narrated by Jonathan Winters with music by Leo Kottke; "How the Rhinoceros Got
His Skin," narrated by Jack Nicholson with music by Bobby McFerrin; and "David
and Goliath," narrated by Mel Gibson with music by Branford Marsalis.  As the
company approaches its 10th anniversary, Rabbit Ears has earned dozens of
awards -- including two Grammy Awards and 13 nominations, 16 Parents Choice
awards, and five Action for Children's Television awards -- as well as
widespread praise from parents, children, educators and the press. 
Microsoft Home comprises a broad range of consumer software products targeted
at the rapidly expanding number of home software users.  The Microsoft Home
brand has been created in response to customer demand for a line of useful and
enjoyable products for the entire family.  Under the Microsoft Home brand,
Microsoft offers software in the broad categories of kids, entertainment,
general reference, and home and business management. 
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software
for personal computers.  The company offers a wide range of products and
services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of
making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full
power of personal computing every day. 


**************************************
AT&T LAUNCHES WORLD WIDE WEB INTERNET SERVER                      
CHICAGO  -Oct.  19, 1994--AT&T is extending its 
commitment to global communications and computing with the launch of its own
information site, or "home page,"  on the Internet. 
AT&T's new Internet site was described yesterday by William Holland, a 
technical manager at AT&T Bell Laboratories, in a talk at the Second 
International World Wide Web Conference here.  Holland heads a group 
responsible for AT&T's electronic gateway services. 
The AT&T site, called "www.att.com,"  is situated on the Internet's World Wide
Web--often abbreviated as "the Web"  or "WWW"--a fast-growing and
user-friendly section of the Internet. Offering a range of information about
AT&T, its products and services, a sampling of what's available includes: -
Historical, current and financial information; - Descriptions of business
units, joint ventures and global operations; - News releases; - Full text of
the current annual report; - Product and service descriptions, including many
color images; - Product and service customer contact numbers; - Product and
service technical data and specifications; - Product and service monthly
featured items; - Access to research and development activities at Bell Labs;
- Access to the company's Customer Information Center; - AT&T's YOU WILL
commercials (graphic, audio and video versions); - An AT&T Phone Center
locator; - Offerings of AT&T Technical Education Center courses, with on-line 
registration, and other AT&T technical consulting services; and - Other 
features, data bases and pointers to additional resources in AT&T and 
elsewhere on the Internet. 
Visitors to the AT&T Web home page may also win T-shirts, books and other
prizes that will be offered through random drawings and other promotional
activities at the site. 
AT&T's home page has been designed for access by Internet users of all kinds,
from those with multimedia (sound, graphics and video) capabilities to
text-only browsers.  The system offers a number of full-color images and
sounds.  In the near future the AT&T Web site will offer a number of leading
edge "You Will"  type technology demonstrations, lists of frequently asked
questions (FAQs), and a self-guided electronic tour of AT&T and its global
operations. 
"This is just the beginning for AT&T,"  said Ron Ponder, AT&T chief 
information officer.  "We believe we have some interesting things to offer,
but we want to listen to our readers and customers. In response, we will
ensure that our site always carries information, capabilities, features and
tools that people tell us they want." 
It is estimated that some 20 to 30 million people have access to the Internet,
either directly or through various commercial on-line services, 
Internet access providers, and corporate and academic networks.  The number
of Internet users is also growing dramatically as more user friendly browsing
software, such as National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
Mosaic, becomes widely available. (Mosaic is the most popular graphical
browser for the Internet.  More than two million copies of Mosaic are in use,
and an additional 30,000 copies are being downloaded each month from the
Internet.) 
The World Wide Web is based on "hypertext"  documents and files linked to each
other through key words or "pointers"  so that readers may pursue whatever
interests them by pointing and clicking on highlighted words with a computer
mouse, or by moving their cursor to the highlighted text and hitting the ENTER
key. 
The linked file or document may be located anywhere on the global Internet on
any one of several thousand graphical, hyperlinked databases around the world.
Users may download any information they are reading, or request the file or
document to be sent via e-mail. 
Ponder said AT&T's home page on the Web is expected to expand as more AT&T
business units and organizations join the company-wide project.  He said the
company envisions three primary uses for its World Wide Web Internet server:
1. Customers can have real-time access to products and services with video,
graphical and audio support capabilities. 2. Customers can access distributed
databases, such as information help line numbers, easily, quickly and on-line.
3. Customers can provide real-time feedback on their needs to enable AT&T to
provide faster and better quality service. 
AT&T also expects to use the Web internally in various ways.  For example,
AT&T employees in one unit could use it to locate or identify resources or
people in other AT&T organizations, faster and easier than they ever could
before.  Other internal applications may include database or resource sharing,
collaboration on product and service development, and various other
communications and data processing activities. 
As AT&T's Web server continues to evolve, the company will enable customers to
place orders for products and services directly while on-line.  Work is
continuing on the development of processes and systems to facilitate on-line
ordering, purchasing and other financial transactions. 
Internet users may access the AT&T site from various "What's New" pages and
directories available on the Web, or they may connect directly by providing
the proper Universal Resource Locator (URL) address of http://www.att.com/. 


**************************************
Sun Micro Sees Strong Video Server Market >SUNW
  NEW YORK  Sun Microsystems Computer Co. (SUNW) expects demand to grow
 for corporate video servers. 
  ''The world wants better user interface,'' Chairman Scott McNealy said in
 an interview broadcast on Dow Jones Investor Network. 
  The Mountain View, Calif., company and Starlight Networks unveiled a
 corporate video server for Unix systems earlier this month. Sun Microsystems
 said it expects the servers to be available by November. 
  ''Everything fell into place'' for the company's 1995 first fiscal quarter,
 McNealy also said. The engineering and commercial workstation company
 reported this week above-estimate earnings of 40 cents a share, compared
 with 16 cents in the year-ago quarter. 
  McNealy said he was especially pleased that gross margins remained stable
 in the quarter. 
  He said that he wasn't sure where Motorola Inc. (MOT) would fit into the
 ''scheme of things'' in the server market. 
  Motorola said earlier this month that it plans to begin manufacturing
 workstations and servers using the PowerPC microprocessors it developed with
 International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL). 


**************************************
America Online Vows To Survive Microsoft-Intuit Merger
  NEW YORK  America Online Inc. (AMER) will be able to compete with the
 on-line ''juggernaut'' of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Intuit Inc. (INTU),
 said America Online Chief Executive Stephen M. Case. 
  But the proposed merger of the two companies will likely serve as a
 ''wake-up call'' for financial institutions and media companies gingerly
 approaching this emerging market, Case told Dow Jones. 
  America Online should be able to battle effectively for business and may
 actually find itself viewed as a more friendly ally to banks and financial
 service companies than would the nation's largest software company, Case
 said. 
  But that is as long as Microsoft doesn't incorporate its
 much-speculated-about Marvel on-line service directly into the code of its
 Windows 95 operating system, Case said. Windows 95 is expected to reach the
 market in the first half of 1995. 
  Michael J. Maples, Microsoft's executive vice president of products, said
 no decision has been made on how to market Marvel. But he added that he
 believed the company was free to integrate the service vertically with its
 operating system should it choose. 
  No precedent exists that would ban General Motors Corp. (GM), for instance,
 from making both cars and tires, Maples said. 
  To Case, however, integrating the service and the software, as opposed to
 simply selling them in the same box, raises the question of whether
 Microsoft's dominant position in the operating system market could spill
 over into the on-line market. 
  ''Microsoft should show some restraint and not try to leverage its
 operating system'' into a ramp for the information highway, Case said. 
  Case said Microsoft's planned purchase of personal-finance software maker
 Intuit could prompt a healthy re-examination of the on-line market.
 Microsoft has said it is interested in using Intuit's popular Quicken
 software as the centerpiece of financial on-line service. Providing the
 service would mean taking in transaction fees that could become considerable
 over time. 
  In trading on Oct. 13, the day of the merger announcement, and on the
 previous day, when rumors of the combination were circulating, America
 Online's shares dropped about 9% as investors worried about the increased
 competition. 
  But Case did his best to impart an air of optimism, saying that he was
 negotiating with prospective partners who could provide on-line brokerage
 and bill-paying services. Already, America Online offers financial services
 such as stock quotes, investment forums and a Morningstar database. 
  Case did not identify the companies, but said his expansion strategy rested
 on partnerships. 
  Behind this strategy is the realization that on-line connections may soon
 become the consumer's primary financial lifeline. 


**************************************
Microsoft VP Sees Intuit Deal Aiding Entrance To Fincl Svcs
  NEW YORK  Intuit Inc.'s (INTU) Quicken software could prove a valuable
 interface between consumers and the on-line financial services they may soon
 desire, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said. 
  The ''essence of the deal is the future,'' Michael J. Maples, executive
 vice president of products, said of his company's proposed $1.5 billion
 merger with Intuit. 
  Maples described the Quicken software line as the dashboard consumers will
 use to navigate from their home computers to the on-line world of financial
 services. 
  The multi-billion-dollar business of financial commerce will change, he
 predicted, and Microsoft wants to be participant as this world of banking
 and other transactions moves online. 
  The company plans to benefit by significantly reducing transaction costs -
 eliminating, for example, the need for mailings, printings and reams of
 paper, he told Dow Jones. 
  To that end, the company plans to negotiate with banks, merchants and other
 information providers. But he said no decision has been made how to market
 Marvel, Microsoft's widely anticipated on-line service. 


**************************************
Interfilm and Sony New Technologies announce  February 1995 release
Hollywood produced interactive theatrical motion picture
 NEW YORK  -Oct. 19, 1994--Interfilm
Inc. (NASDAQ: IFLM) announced today that its interactive motion picture "Mr.
Payback" has been set for release in theaters on Feb. 17, 1995. Immediately
following the exhibition run of "Mr. Payback, " the company will release "Ride
For Your Life," an interactive motion picture previously scheduled for a Fall,
1994 release. Bob Gale, acclaimed writer/producer of the "Back to the Future"
motion picture trilogy, wrote and directed "Mr. Payback."  "Mr. Payback" stars 
Christopher Lloyd ("Back to the Future"), Billy Warlock ("Baywatch") and 
Leslie Easterbrook ("Police Academy") and features cameo appearances by Dan
Aykroyd, Ice-T and Slash from Guns and Roses.  In "Mr. Payback," the audience
creates their own wickedly funny storylines by determining the actions of the
protagonists and villains alike, by directing an investigation and by causing
"Mr. Payback" to mete out the audience's chosen brand of justice. All of
Interfilm's pictures are full-screen, full-motion video projected on the
company's proprietary exhibition system where theater audiences will be able
to create their own storylines by pushing buttons attached to pistol grips
mounted on the armrests of their theatre seats.  "Mr. Payback" gives the
audience a chance to play superhero for a day. 
"Mr. Payback" is the first of two pictures to be produced by Sony New 
Technologies, a division of Sony Corporation of America, in connection with a
recently concluded amendment to the agreement originally struck in April of
1993.  Sony has also agreed to increase its marketing commitment to support
"Mr. Payback" and to apply its production commitment of more than $3 million
toward two pictures (including "Mr. Payback"), rather than three pictures as
initially contemplated.  Sony has also agreed to purchase its ten Interfilm
technology exhibition systems from the company in 1994. 
"This agreement will ensure that the launch of Interfilm's interactive film
business will draw upon the strengths of both Sony and Interfilm," said Chuck
Braverman, senior vice president of Sony New Technologies. "We are most
impressed with the technology created by Interfilm and feel that Bob Gale's
contribution as a writer/director will assist both companies in maximizing the
impact of the launch of this new entertainment medium.  'Mr. Payback' is an
extremely compelling character and Interfilm's interactive technology is a
unique and exciting vehicle with which to launch him.  This picture brings
what we believe to be the highest production value, and the best cast and crew 
ever brought to the interactive medium." 
Bob Bejan, Interfilm's president and chief executive officer stated, "The idea
of giving the Hollywood creative community a medium upon which compelling
interactive content could be made today is and always has been one of the key
tenets of the Interfilm concept.  With 'Mr. Payback' and Sony's enthusiastic
support, we are making that concept a reality. Marquee value talent, a
storyline with broad based appeal, and a major Hollywood studio partner all
work together to position Interfilm for a successful launch of the interactive
theatrical medium in 1995." "The revised agreement with Sony represents a leap
forward for the Company and the launch of the business," said Bill Franzblau,
Interfilm's Chief Operating Officer.  "Sony's commitment to increase their
marketing efforts evidences their faith in this picture and the Interfilm
process. 
We anticipate that the commitments from many of the world's leading movie
exhibitors and the star value of 'Mr. Payback' will enable the Company to
secure even more theatres for the subsequent release of 'Ride For Your Life.'"
Franzblau noted that negotiations are ongoing with other interested
exhibitors. Winston Van Buitenen, Executive Vice President of Sony New
Technologies stated, "We are extremely excited about the launch of the
business as partners with Interfilm.  We believe 'Mr. Payback' will appeal to
all people and will expose this new technology to the broadest possible
audience.  'Mr. Payback' is the perfect vehicle for our initial foray into
interactive theatrical film-making and Sony looks forward to exhibiting the
movie on a national basis." Interfilm is a pioneer in the emerging field of
interactive entertainment.  The company's unique focus on interaction in a
group environment will create a new form of entertainment for movie-going 
audiences.  For the first time in movie history, audiences will be empowered
to create their own story lines by pushing buttons attached to pistol grips
mounted on the armrest of their theater seats. --30--kk/ny* jw/crh lgm 


**************************************
-China's Electronic Publishing Product Puts Firm on Best-Seller List
BEIJING--Oct. 20--When senior Politburo member Qiao Shi wanted a suitable 
crucible to promote science and technology in China, he chose Founder Group. 
Since it began as an offshoot of Beijing University's computer institute in
1986, Founder has emerged as one of China's most successful computer companies.
Last year, the company made 130 million yuan ($15 million) profit on revenue
of 900 million yuan. Founder's revenue is expected to double this year. 
"We don't make as big a profit as the larger companies like Stone and Legend,
but our profit rate is higher," technical director Wang Xuan told The Journal
of Commerce. 
Mr. Wang, who is also a Beijing University professor and inventor, helped 
develop the company's most successful product: an electronic publishing system
for Chinese-language newspapers and books. 
Dominant in China, the publishing system is now gaining recognition in foreign
markets. Ming Pao, one of Hong Kong's largest newspaper groups, uses Founder's
products, as do others in Taiwan and the United States. 
Founder also is involved in a number of other ventures, including acting as a
sales agent for Digital Equipment Corp. of Maynard, Mass., and setting up a
small property development operation. 
The group is a model start-up company, drawing talent from the top computer
science graduates of the university each year. It's also a model for what it
doesn't do. 
Instead of following the lead of more established computer companies, Founder
avoided costly investment of funds and time to try to develop products to
compete head-on with high-tech imports. 
China has attempted to retain a self-sufficiency in computer technology out of
place in a world of multiple country and company sourcing. 
That policy is now giving way to pragmatism as officials accept that China
cannot compete with industry giants such as Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, 
Wash., for operating systems or Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., for 
computer chips. 
While Founder has got ahead by specializing in application programs, other
Chinese firms are scrambling to tie up with foreign, mainly American, 
computer companies. 
U.S. companies signing contracts this summer to expand production in China or
set up new operations include AST Research Inc. of Irvine, Calif.; Compaq
Computer Corp. of Houston; Tandem Computers Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., 
as well as Microsoft and Intel. 
The Chinese companies want to gain access to world-class manufacturing 
techniques and technology. Their foreign partners want a stake in the Chinese 
computer market, and down the line, an export launch pad. 
The Chinese market should keep them busy for a while. This year, Chinese will
buy some 650,000 personal computers alone, up 44 percent on the total sold
last year. 
Potential has barely been realized as the size of the consumer base in cities
is growing fast. The huge, sprawling bureaucracy of the Chinese government is
also only 20 percent computerized; plans are in hand to double the level of
computerization by the year 2000. 
AST, which dominates the PC market, has responded with its own plans to triple
output from its joint-venture plant in Tianjin next year to 300,000 computers.
Compaq has just begun shipping computers from its assembly lines in the
southern special economic zone of Shenzhen adjacent to Hong Kong and hopes to
supply 100,000 units next year. 
Mr. Wang of Founder said he isn't concerned about the inroads being made by
foreign companies. "I believe Chinese are clever and diligent, so in some 
areas, we can catch up to advanced standards and even overtake," he said. 
The professor is something of a model there, too. For sixteen years, from 1976
to 1992, he says he did not take a single day off. 
"I did it for the attraction of the challenge, the difficulty of the project
and the value of the project," Mr. Wang said. END!A8?JC-CHINA-COMP 


**************************************
U.S. Robotics to Buy Modem-Maker Megahertz                         
CHICAGO--Oct. 20--Skokie, Ill.-based U.S. Robotics Inc., a major producer of
telephone modems used to link computers, announced a deal Wednesday to buy the
country's leading producer of credit-card-size modems for portable computers. 
The $213 million deal, for Salt Lake City-based Megahertz Holding Corp., will
result in a company equipped to design and sell devices that work with 
computers ranging from the new generation of pocket-size personal digital 
assistants to industrial-strength mainframe machines. 
U.S. Robotics executives said they expect revenues of around $600 million 
after the acquisition. Last year U.S. Robotics had revenues of $375 million 
and Megahertz $120 million. U.S. Robotics' work force will increase to 2,000 
from 1,500 with the merger. 
In a conference call with reporters and stock analysts, U.S. Robotics' chief
executive, Casey Cowell, said he pursued the deal because "the only place we
weren't strong was in the portable market." 
U.S. Robotics controls about 11.5 percent of dial-up modem sales, making it
second to Schaumburg-based Motorola in that business, according to analysts at
Dataquest Inc. 
But while Motorola's business focuses on corporate computer users, U.S. 
Robotics is a leader in sales to the public with products such as its 
Sportster line. 
Megahertz is the leading producer of what are called PCMCIA modems, cards that
are about 1/8-inch thick, 2 inches wide and 3-1/2 inches long. 
These credit-card-size modems are widely considered the key to future growth
in the highly competitive market. 
PCMCIA modems allow portable computers to transfer digital data and faxes over
ordinary phone lines, by cellular phone links and on networks of computers. As
businesses deploy work forces into the field, portable modem sales are
expected to boom so workers can keep in touch with computer networks at
headquarters via laptops. 
California-based Dataquest estimates that 80 percent of the 7.7 million 
laptops that will be sold in 1994 will be equipped with PCMCIA slots capable 
of operating the new type of modems. 
By 1998, the consultants predict, 14.2 million laptops will be sold - 98 
percent of them with PCMCIA slots. 
"Clearly there is tremendous potential for a joining of U.S. Robotics and
Megahertz in the PCMCIA area," said Dataquest analyst Lisa Pilgrem, who 
follows the industry. 
"This is a very big event in the modem business." Ross Manire, chief financial
officer for U.S. Robotics, said the company stands to gain access to important
patents held by Megahertz. 
Dataquest's Pilgrem said a major strength is a device called an X-jack 
connector that allows the user of a Megahertz modem to plug a regular 
telephone cord into the PCMCIA card. 
Competing models require a separate connection cable that links the PCMCIA
card to the phone line. 
Spencer Kirk, chief executive of Megahertz, said the company also has made
breakthroughs in producing wireless modems capable of hooking remote computers
to networks by cellular phone calls or radio broadcasts. 
He said Megahertz, whose shares began trading publicly in the summer of 1993,
will become a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics and will continue to be based in
Utah. He added that he didn't expect major changes in the work force. 
The company suffered layoffs earlier this year when its profit margins dropped
as competitors, including U.S. Robotics, began selling competing products,
triggering a modem price war. 
U.S. Robotics had become the fourth-largest PCMCIA modem supplier at the end
of the last fiscal quarter. 
"We just had an inherent sense the organizations could be brought together
quite naturally," said U.S. Robotics chief Cowell. 
Under the agreement announced Wednesday, U.S. Robotics will offer 0.35 of a
share for each share of Megahertz, bringing the total issue to about 6.3 
million shares. U.S. Robotics has about 11.44 million shares outstanding. At 
current prices the deal is worth about $213 million. 


**************************************
Mecklermedia Zaps Internet   Service Weeks After Launch
  One of the more promising new commercial ventures on the Internet has been
 scuttled just two weeks after its launch, as Mecklermedia Corp. has decided
 to narrow the venture's focus and fire executives developing the new
 service.
  The company's MecklerWeb had sought to be a kind of Yellow Pages in
 cyberspace by charging companies as much as $50,000 to help them develop
 interactive on-line brochures. Officially started on Oct. 5, it was backed
 by Digital Equipment Corp., General Motors Corp.'s Electronic Data Systems
 and the direct-mail unit of ad agency Ogilvy & Mather.
  But Mecklermedia's chairman and chief executive officer, Alan Meckler,
 suddenly shifted course last week amid clashes over direction with the new
 venture's head, Christopher Locke. Mr. Meckler now says the service didn't
 meet expectations, had found only one customer willing to pay its high fees
 and posed the threat of big losses.
  MecklerWeb, instead of helping companies present their industry expertise
 to on-line users and open a direct dialog with customers, now will take a
 much narrower approach, putting Mecklermedia magazines on-line and selling
 advertising at $5,000 for a 90-day spot.
  That brought a sharp rebuke from Mr. Locke, who has stepped down as
 MecklerWeb's president on instructions from Mr. Meckler. "Alan Meckler
 doesn't get it. He's taken a window of opportunity and slammed it shut," Mr.
 Locke contended. Mr. Meckler countered: "If I don't get it, why didn't any
 other company get it?"
  Mr. Locke said Mr. Meckler was wavering even before the October launch,
 instructing Mr. Locke two weeks before the service began that he should look
 for a buyer. Then last week, Mr. Meckler decided he couldn't part with the
 service because it was too closely linked to his publishing company, both
 men said. "There were a lot of flipflops," said Mr. Locke, who added that
 the new MecklerWeb, based on the print-ad model, "simply won't work."
  Some backers of MecklerWeb also expressed frustration at the sudden shift
 in direction. "I'm personally very upset about this," said Dudley Howe, a
 manager at Digital Equipment, which had donated several hundred thousand
 dollars in computer hardware and had a three-year contract with MecklerWeb.
 Digital is unlikely to continue with the new version of the service, and it
 may consider cutting a deal with the fired executives who created it, he
 said.
  Gordon Cook, who publishes a newsletter that was to be offered on
 MecklerWeb, said Mr. Meckler's pullback "just makes no sense. I'm absolutely
 amazed he was unable to see this thing through at least for another three
 months."
  Mr. Meckler said only one company, Andersen Consulting, had signed up for
 MecklerWeb, agreeing to pay $25,000 to be listed on the service. When no new
 clients signed up after the official launch earlier this month, "that was
 the last straw," he said. Moreover, rivals such as H&R Block Co.'s
 CompuServe Inc. have announced similar Internet services at a much lower
 cost to users.
  From the moment the service was conceived in January, Mr. Meckler has been
 reluctant to invest heavily. His investment to date is roughly $250,000, but
 he figures the service would have cost as much as $1.5 million in the next
 year.


**************************************
Personal Computing Is        Too Dumb To Know Easy Is Smart
  Three years ago this week, this column was launched with the contention
 that personal computers are too hard to use, and that the blame lies not
 with the people trying to use them but with the supposed geniuses who design
 the machines and the software that runs on them.
  Each October since, I've tried to take a look at the state of personal
 computing to assess whether, in general, the things are getting easier to
 use. Over the past 12 months, steady progress has been made on the margins,
 but it's slow going. The fundamental complexity and limitations of the
 IBM-compatible PC design still haunt us, well into its second decade of
 existence.
  Things are moving in the right direction but at a snail's pace. Computers
 are shipping with many more features built in, eliminating the need for
 users to poke around inside to add things. But anyone who tries to add more,
 especially to install one of those much-touted multimedia upgrade kits,
 quickly finds himself in trouble.
  The same is true of software. Programs have lots more built-in help and
 colorful icons to click on, but they can still be hellishly confusing to
 use. Many of the new multimedia programs are nearly impossible even to
 install correctly.
  Just the other day in the Washington Post, a columnist named Tony
 Kornheiser wrote that he went out and bought a home computer but can't use
 it. "I sit there staring at a blank screen," he wrote, "waiting for it to do
 something magical on its own, like it's the Oracle at Delphi. The only thing
 I can do on that screen is Windex it."
  Mr. Kornheiser is no doubt exaggerating a bit (columnists do that). But
 even rocket scientists are baffled by personal computers. I once got e-mail
 from a scientist at NASA who works on giant supercomputers all day with
 aplomb but goes home at night and finds to his great frustration that he
 can't get the family IBM-compatible PC to run multimedia software correctly.
  Two big computing advances that were supposed to cure a lot of these woes
 this year have now been put off until 1995. One is Microsoft's new Windows
 95 operating system, which will fix most of the dumb features in its Windows
 program and finally kill off the dreadful DOS operating system. The other is
 a new hardware standard called Plug and Play, which is supposed to make it
 simple to configure and expand IBM-compatible PCs.
  These are great ideas. But even if they work as promised, they will mainly
 bring IBM-compatibles up to the ease-of-use standard set by Apple with its
 Macintosh models starting in 1984. And even the Mac isn't as easy as it
 could be for novices to grasp. It's hard to believe the industry can't do
 better than that in 1995.
  Apple has a secret project to radically redesign the Mac's main software,
 to make it simpler and smarter. And it's been talking to IBM about a new
 compatible computer design. But what's needed is much more: a fundamental
 redesign of the whole concept of the PC, with ease of use and integration as
 the guiding principles. The last machine built from the ground up with those
 goals in mind was the Mac, and that was eons ago in computer time. I wonder
 if any company out there now has the courage to break the mold again.
  Meanwhile, the news isn't all bad. While changes in the basic box and its
 underlying control software are on hold, a few software designers are trying
 out a new style of computer program that I call active software.
Personal Computing, Dumb -2-: Active Software Programs
  Active software programs don't work in rigid ways but try to tailor the way
 they work to the context of what's going on at the moment, and to the habits
 and preferences of the user.
  They learn these either by intelligently observing what's happening at the
 computer or by conducting interviews with users to determine how they work
 and what they want. The essence of these programs is that they match up a
 user's personal profile and habits with expert tools or expert content and
 then intelligently propose a solution to the problem at hand.
  These active computing features can be subtle. For instance, Microsoft Word
 can learn the words you misspell most often and correct them automatically
 without requiring you to run the spell checker. The new version of
 WordPerfect for Windows has a smart search-and-replace feature that will
 replace every form and tense of a given word with the appropriate form and
 tense of a word you choose to replace it. Thus, if you want to replace
 "purchase" with "buy," the program is smart enough to replace "purchased"
 with "bought."
  Or active computing can be more obvious. The new 3D Landscape program from
 Books That Work proposes plantings for your yard based on the actual design
 and geographic location of your property. Rand McNally's new TripMaker
 software proposes a driving plan, with map, for any journey across the
 country after interviewing you to learn your preferences about where and how
 often to stop, how fast and long you like to drive each day and so forth.
  There are more examples already, and I expect the trend to spread. Within a
 year or two, I bet many programs will conduct an interview with users up
 front to determine how they want to work and learn any other characteristics
 or information that are appropriate to the purpose of the software. Then the
 software will work and act accordingly.
  For now, we'll just struggle along with PCs and software too dumb to be
 easy. Please pass the Windex.


**************************************
IBM in Talks To Cover Costs  Of New Linkup With Apple
  NEW YORK -- International Business Machines Corp. is discussing a proposal
 to underwrite the massive costs of a new alliance with Apple Computer Inc.,
 in which IBM would gain rights to the Macintosh operating system -- in
 return for funding an effort that could easily cost Big Blue well over $1
 billion.
  IBM is considering the bold plan as part of an urgent effort to salvage its
 faltering PowerPC strategy and form a broad alliance with Apple aimed at
 developing a common hardware platform that would run both Apple and IBM
 software programs. The two longtime rivals are expected shortly to sign a
 series of complex cross-licensing agreements aimed at making their PCs more
 compatible.
  But Apple has insisted that IBM must pick up all of the costs of
 redesigning the vaunted Macintosh internal software to let it run on IBM's
 PowerPC chip design, according to knowledgeable executives. The entire
 development effort could take two to three years and may require the work of
 hundreds of engineers.
  The two sides have yet to sign a final agreement, but papers are in the
 hands of their lawyers, executives said. It wasn't immediately clear how
 much, if any, of IBM's money would go to reimbursing Apple directly for the
 actual costs of modifying the Macintosh system, as opposed to how much might
 represent a direct payment to Apple as a licensing fee for Mac rights. IBM
 would pay Apple future royalties on sales, although details couldn't be
 learned.
  In any case, an agreement by IBM to underwrite development costs might let
 Apple "offload" hundreds of millions of dollars in research costs over the
 next several years that the company might otherwise have to fund itself. One
 industry executive close to Apple said yesterday that at the least, IBM has
 agreed to provide Apple with a substantial sum to defray the estimated $40
 million to $60 million cost of modifying the Macintosh system to run on
 IBM's PowerPC design.
  An IBM-Apple alliance would face serious technical and marketing obstacles,
 but it also would give each partner something it lacks. IBM would get a
 popular operating system when its own efforts at developing a PowerPC
 desktop operating system are running late, and Apple would get an inroad
 into big corporate customers.
  "It moves Apple closer to corporate legitimacy and gives IBM a backup
 strategy long-term if its own efforts fail," said John Dunkle, president of
 WorkGroup Technologies Inc., a Hampton, N.H., market-research firm. He
 estimates IBM will spend upward of $1 billion to achieve a marketable
 product from the agreement. IBM will also have to pay Apple royalties on Mac
 clones, although some analysts believe IBM and Apple are still wrangling
 over the details.
  Spokesmen for both companies declined comment on any negotiations.
  For IBM, the new proposal might be a way to win the full cooperation it had
 sought from Apple when they formed the PowerPC partnership with chip-maker
 Motorola Inc. three years ago. The original vision was to design a superfast
 and inexpensive chip that could challenge Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp.'s
 lock on the PC market.
  The chip got made, but its future looked shaky as Apple continued to go its
 own way. Apple has introduced a line of PowerPC-based Macs, but they aren't
 at all compatible with PowerPC machines planned by IBM. Each side pushed the
 other to adopt its technical approach. That left IBM struggling to convert
 its OS/2 operating system -- which now is installed in five million
 Intel-based PCs, compared with the Mac's 15 million -- for the desktop
 PowerPCs.
  But IBM is running late on the OS/2 conversion. It now has PowerPC desktops
 ready to go, but has delayed introducing them until the middle of next year,
 when it hopes OS/2 will be ready. Embracing the Macintosh system might give
 the Armonk, N.Y., company a more popular option, and a fallback position if
 its own faltering OS/2 ultimately fails in the marketplace.
  For Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., an agreement with IBM could help bolster
 its position in the market for a company that, despite respected technology,
 is in risk of becoming a beloved but small niche player. If more Macs were
 sold, even Mac clones produced by IBM, more software companies might be
 willing to design programs for the Apple customer base.
  "This is the only thing that will make the PowerPC go," said one PC
 executive. "Apple and IBM don't have enough momentum if they go their
 separate ways."
  Still, the new alliance could pose plenty of confusion and headaches. It
 isn't at all assured that an Apple-IBM machine will ever run programs
 designed for the new version of Microsoft's Windows operating system that is
 expected next year.
  Also at issue is IBM's investment of billions of dollars in OS/2. Turning
 around and investing now in Apple's operating system raises questions about
 OS/2's prospects and whether IBM may give up on OS/2 altogether. By offering
 Apple's system, IBM could just further befuddle some customers, who already
 aren't sure of IBM's strategy.
  "Why buy an IBM machine with Apple software?" Steve Ballmer, executive vice
 president of Microsoft, said in an interview this week.
  The answer might be: because such a machine could run software for either
 design, rather than having to choose one or the other. IBM is expected to
 include, as part of a new Apple alliance, an effort to incorporate the
 Macintosh operating system in its broader software strategy known as
 Workplace OS. Workplace, which is so technically difficult that many
 outsiders say it can't be done, aims to form an underlying software-design
 platform that would let programs designed for one operating system run on
 many others without having to rewrite them.
  ---
         Chronology of IBM and Apple Partnership

  -- Oct. 1991: IBM and Apple sign wide-ranging agreement to share technology
 in effort to challenge the PC supremacy of Microsoft and Intel in software
 and microprocessors.
  -- Feb. 1992: Apple and IBM name executives, board for Taligent Inc., a
 joint venture established by the companies under the alliance to develop new
 operating software.
  -- Feb. 1992: Engineers from IBM, Apple and Motorola begin to move into a
 design center in Austin, Texas, to make a new microprocessor called PowerPC
 under the alliance that now includes Motorola.
  -- June 1992: Apple and IBM name chief executive and board for Kaleida,
 their joint venture to develop new multimedia software technologies.
  -- Oct. 1992: IBM and Motorola announce they have completed first silicon
 of the PowerPC 601 chip; the first in a family.
  -- Nov. 1993: Apple demonstrates a Macintosh running PowerPC at a trade
 show.
  -- March 1994: Apple launches new Power Macintosh line of computers running
 PowerPC chips.
  -- Oct. 1994: Apple announces it has shipped more than 600,000 Power
 Macintoshes, while IBM is delayed in launching its PowerPC line of personal
 computers. Details leak out that IBM and Apple are set to extend alliance by
 developing common PowerPC desktop, along with Motorola. Taligent and Kaleida
 ventures, meanwhile, have shipped no product after encountering delays.


**************************************
Satellite Dishes Shrink;     Cable Starts To Sweat
  Fed up with years of snowy television reception and frequent outages, John
 Houston of Denver canceled his cable subscription. Then he bought a tiny
 satellite dish and signed up with Digital Satellite Service. "The picture is
 great and so is the sound," says Mr. Houston. "We just had too many
 complaints with cable."
  After more than a decade of false starts, direct-to-home satellite
 broadcasting is finally giving cable a run for its money. This month,
 Digital Satellite System (DSS) is launching a nationwide campaign to attract
 subscribers to its programming service, which beams 150 channels to
 receiving dishes the size of a pizza pan. For an initial outlay of about
 $1,000, plus monthly fees ranging from $7.95 to $64.90, subscribers get
 CD-quality sound, sharp pictures and a variety of programming packages to
 choose from. For about $30 a month, consumers can purchase the souped-up
 version of basic cable.
  In addition to 50 pay-per-view movie channels and 30 commercial-free music
 channels, the DSS offerings include CNN, MTV, Nickelodeon and ESPN, as well
 as "multiplexed" versions of premium networks -- five channels of HBO and
 three channels of Cinemax, for example, each showing movies at different
 times. For a fee, subscribers can see every regular-season game played in
 pro football.
  Ironically, hopeful consumers who have been abandoning their cable
 companies in droves may find they have just as much to complain about with
 DSS. The cost of the dish and receiver is much more than the advertised
 price of $699 because of related equipment and installation costs. A good
 hard rain can make the picture go dark. DSS charges $1 for calling an
 operator to order a movie. Reception depends on having a clear view of the
 southern sky. And worst of all, subscribers can't receive local broadcast
 networks, a staple in most American homes.
  Still, the primary backers of DSS, United States Satellite Broadcasting
 Inc., a unit of Hubbard Broadcasting Inc., and General Motors Corp.'s
 DirecTV division, project that DSS will reach 500,000 homes by the end of
 1994. More than 100,000 customers have already signed up. DSS has started by
 pursuing those 10 to 12 million customers, mainly in rural areas, who can't
 get cable, but the company claims that fully half of its customers had cable
 at the time they signed up.
  Some cable operators, anxious about the competition, have already nicknamed
 DSS and its two satellites "Deathstar," after the planet-sized space station
 in "Star Wars" that could obliterate whole worlds. Even so, "I don't think
 cable knows what's hitting them," warns USSB President Stanley E. Hubbard.
  Together, USSB and DirecTV are spending $90 million on a massive ad
 campaign. Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc., another major backer, is
 cranking out 5,000 receivers a day via its RCA electronics unit, and RCA is
 throwing in another $40 million to promote DSS, using TV ads starring their
 trademark dogs, Nipper and Chipper. After RCA sells the first million units
 -- with salesmen hawking them in some 10,000 retail outlets, such as Sears
 -- Sony Corp. will begin producing dishes.
  DSS could trim cable's current growth rate of about 3% annually by as much
 as one percentage point, estimates Tom Wolzien, a media analyst at Sanford
 C. Bernstein & Co. "But once you get past the early adopters and people just
 ticked off at cable operators, the next question becomes one of price,
 convenience and content," Mr. Wolzien says, "This is a tough one."
  Indeed, the risk is huge. Cable television reaches more than 60 million of
 the nation's 94 million TV households. And few technologies have
 disappointed backers as consistently as direct-broadcast satellite TV.
 Almost all previous U.S. ventures died, usually after losing millions of
 dollars. One of the more notable was Sky Cable, which involved GM's Hughes
 unit, General Electric Co.'s NBC, cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp.
 and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The partners abandoned the project three
 years ago after differences arose over direction of the business.
  To date, the DSS venture has cost nearly $1 billion, and the investors
 would break even with three million subscribers. GE's Hughes Electronics
 unit, which built and launched the satellites, has put up about $750
 million, while USSB has committed about $150 million, including some $25
 million from Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. RCA has
 committed about $100 million.
  While DSS offers many more channels than cable, the head start won't last
 long. Most big cable operators are doubling their capital budgets to upgrade
 their systems. Time Warner, for example, recently launched a $5 billion,
 five-year plan to build a new high-capacity network. Eventually, cable
 systems are promising 150 channels and more; some cable operators are even
 investing in direct-broadcast satellite services. Moreover, the threat of
 competition has already forced changes, however slight, in the way cable
 does business. Many cable operators are launching customer awareness
 campaigns and offering free installations and additional outlets.
  To deter potential satellite converts, cable operators point out that DSS
 is expensive, unreliable and isn't capable of offering two-way
 communications, or interactivity.
  Indeed, the equipment costs can run even higher than $1,000. If a customer
 wants separate services for two TV sets -- currently about 66% of American
 homes have two or more TV sets -- the cost is $899 for a special dish, plus
 the cost of a second receiver, about $649, for a total of $1,548.
 Furthermore, there is no maintenance agreement -- only a 90-day warranty.
  "There is a backlash to cable, and no one can deny that," says Steve
 Effros, head of the Cable Telecommunications Association, a national cable
 trade group. "But now consumers will have to spend their own money for the
 equipment, and it ain't cheap."
  Mr. Hubbard of USSB says the price of satellite equipment will eventually
 go down although he wouldn't say how much or by when. But Mr. Wolzien, the
 analyst, points out that "the only way satellites will ever compete with
 cable is if they come down to about $300 to $400."


**************************************
Microsoft Earnings Jumped    32% In 1Q, Boosting Margins
  Microsoft Corp., boosting its already-impressive profit margins, posted a
 32% jump in first-quarter profit, slightly exceeding most estimates.
  Net income for the quarter, ended Sept. 30, rose to $316 million, or 51
 cents a share, from $239 million, or 39 cents a share, the year earlier.
 Analysts' per-share estimates averaged 49 cents to 50 cents. Sales spurted
 27% to $1.25 billion from $983 million.
  At a time when price wars are hurting the profitability of many high-tech
 companies, Microsoft's gross profit margins continued to rise, hitting a
 record of 85.1% from 83.7% in the fourth quarter. Executives said during a
 conference call that sales in the current quarter are likely to grow at
 about the same rate as last year, or about 15% from the September period.
  "It's phenomenal," said Scott McAdams, an analyst at Ragen MacKenzie Inc.
 in Seattle. "It looks strong across the board."
  The results are in sharp contrast to those of rival Lotus Development
 Corp., suggesting that Microsoft is taking market share at a rapid rate.
 Lotus reported earlier this week a $66.4 million loss for its third quarter,
 which comprises the same three months; it added that sales of its
 desktop-application programs, including its 1-2-3 spreadsheet, fell 17%.
  Microsoft's application sales grew 31%, and accounted for about 60% of
 total sales. David Readerman, an analyst at Unterberg Harris in San
 Francisco, attributed the growth to the company's popular suites, which
 bundle spreadsheets with word-processing and graphics programs. "Lotus's
 pain is Microsoft's gain," Mr. Readerman said.
  Operating systems, led by Windows, grew 36% and accounted for 36% of
 Microsoft's revenue. That's impressive, analysts said, in view of signs of
 slower sales of personal computers that come with the software.
  Greg Maffei, Microsoft's treasurer, said profitability improved largely
 because more companies are choosing licensing that allows them to make
 multiple copies of Microsoft programs for their users. Microsoft pays lower
 production costs than the conventional practice of buying a packaged program
 for each desktop PC user.
  Microsoft's growth came despite the absence of some promising products.
 They include a just-completed update of its Windows NT operating system,
 CD-ROM programs that are expected to start selling around Christmas, and its
 long-awaited Windows 95 program expected next spring. "Despite the lack of
 all of those, they showed very robust numbers," said Stephen McClellan, an
 analyst at Merrill Lynch. "To me, that's telling."
  One sour note was Europe, where Microsoft's sales rose only 4% for reasons
 that weren't clear, said Terence Quinn, an analyst at Furman Selz Inc.
  Microsoft's results were reported after stock markets closed. The company's
 shares rose $1 each in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, closing at $57.615 a
 share.
  Last week, Microsoft agreed to acquire Intuit Inc., a maker of
 personal-finance software, in a stock transaction valued at $1.5 billion,
 the largest such transaction in software-industry history. That agreement
 must clear regulatory hurdles, however, and isn't expected to be concluded
 for several months.
  Separately, Microsoft said it is cutting the price on the latest version of
 its SQL Server database by about one-third in response to competitors'
 moves. When the program ships, later this month, it will be priced at $999
 for each server system, 33% lower than the $1,499 price announced two weeks
 ago.
  The price for software for a PC connected to the server system will drop
 37%, to $119 from $189, Microsoft said.


**************************************
Iwerks Entertainment to develop  virtual-reality attraction, simula
based on ''Aliens'' sci-fi blockbuster
BURBANK, CALIF.  -Oct. 20, 1994--Iwerks Entertainment
Inc. (NASDAQ:IWRK) Thursday announced that it has licensed the worldwide
rights to the Twentieth Century Fox feature film ''Aliens'' and will develop a
virtual-reality attraction and a simulation thrill ride based on the highly
successful science- fiction movie trilogy. 
To date, ''Aliens,'' together with its predecessor, ''Alien,'' and successor,
''Aliens 3,'' have collectively grossed nearly $400 million worldwide. 
The adaptation of ''Aliens'' into Iwerks' interactive virtual- reality 
attraction, ''Virtual Adventures,'' will mark the second time the company has
licensed a major motion picture for this purpose.  Last year, 
Iwerks successfully produced and released ''RoboCop:  The Ride,'' which was
based on Orion Pictures' film featuring the futuristic police officer. 
Iwerks also will produce a four-minute live-action simulation film based on
''Aliens'' that it plans to exhibit in its motion-simulation theaters 
worldwide. 
Commenting on the project, Iwerks Chairman, President and Chief Executive
Officer Stan Kinsey said:  '' 'Aliens' is a thrilling high-action adventure
that naturally lends itself to being both an exciting virtual-reality
attraction and a powerful simulation film. 
''As the location-based-entertainment market continues to grow, film companies
can extend the lives of feature films by developing themed attractions like
these.  The tremendous acclaim we have received from audiences in the U.S. and
abroad on our 'RoboCop' virtual-reality production makes me very optimistic
that response to our 'Aliens'-based products will also be excellent.'' 
Iwerks Entertainment is one of the leading producers of movie-based specialty
theaters, simulation rides, virtual-reality technologies and associated
software for the out-of-home- entertainment market.  The company designs and
installs special- venue movie theaters around the world, primarily in theme
parks, world's fairs, museums and visitors' centers. 


**************************************
Computer industry notes                                            
First place usually is cause for some celebration, and you might have 
expected there to be some popping of champagne corks at the personal computer
maker who came out on top of J.D. Power's latest customer satisfaction survey. 
You'd doubly expect that if the new No. 1 wasn't a past winner like Dell or
Apple, but the unexpected champion: Hewlett-Packard Co. After all, the company,
fast moving up the rankings of most purchased PCs, edged another surprise
entrant, Digital Equipment Corp., and left Compaq, Apple and IBM in the dust
in the results, announced Monday. 
But that's not the H-P Way. No party, just back to work. 
''I came in (Monday) and expected people to be much more excited,'' said 
spokesman Larry Sennett. ''But the attitude was more, yeah, we deserve it,
we're starting to do things right.'' 
Note to CEO Lew Platt: how about a Friday beer bust? 

Dark horse PC maker Packard-Bell, poised to post some big numbers this holiday
season, may be hoping to ride the boost for more than a nice quarterly report. 
Some analysts say the company may be primed to revisit its efforts of three
years ago to go public. And company officials aren't trying hard to dissuade
them. 
In 1992, Packard-Bell filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission
to offer 5.2 million shares of common stock _ at the time, less than 30
percent of the company. The company backed off, however. 
But now, with sales on the upswing, a factory set to open in Angers, France,
and another on the build in Sacramento, the company again is thinking of
raising expansion funds through the stock market. 
''We are keeping our options open,'' said marketing vice president Mal Ransom.
''And certainly an IPO is one of those options.'' 
 
BITS: At first glance it looks like AST picked a great day for a huge auction
of surplus PCs in Las Vegas: Nov. 12, the day before 150,000 people begin
registering for the mammoth Comdex computer show there. But don't expect too
many show goers to line up at the multimillion-dollar auction. The Interface
Group, which organizes the show, also controls almost all hotel bookings there
for the week, and its literature specifically prohibits Saturday arrivals,
presumably so casinos can keep gamblers housed that day instead of
non-gambling nerds. ... Our operatives in Seattle report that Bill Gates,
photographed last year front row at a basketball game with his then-fiancee,
now-bride Melinda French, is a football fan as well. And not one to miss the
kickoff, either. After a speech in Seattle a couple of weeks back, Gates left
the premises _ and boarded a waiting helicopter for the crosstown flight to 
the University of Washington to see the Huskies take on the San Jose State
Spartans. Unknown if, as is his custom, Gates sat in coach. ... We said a
month ago that the White House was days away from launching its home page on
the World Wide Web _ but, in typical Washington fashion, it never
materialized. Turns out there was a little committee work to be done, but it's
finished and the announcement is set for Thursday. Net-hip Palo Alto
reportedly will be one of five cities to host the announcement, although the
city refused to confirm that Tuesday. Just don't try to get in early: when we
tried to get to http: 


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Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin remain alive in video stores, on T
If you want to see ''The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' today, the eight movies 
spawned by the series occasionally turn up in late-night on the TNT cable
network (Ted Turner bought out the MGM film library in 1986). 
Twenty-two home videos are available, each featuring two episodes apiece, 
which is not quite half of the show's run. (There are only two laser discs
available.) Check with your local video store or with Columbia House Video,
Dept. JDB, at 1-800-538-7766. 


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CyberGuard Firewall protects computers from Internet hackers       
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ It could be the next best thing to a pit bull 
protecting your company's computer secrets from ''hackers.'' 
It's called the CyberGuard Firewall, a new product from Fort Lauderdale-based
Harris Computer Systems Corp. 
Harris officials said the small, intelligent gray box _ priced at $24, 995 _
can be attached to a company's computer network to prevent unauthorized access
via the Internet or other external interactive networks. 
Harris' firewall system was developed from the hardware and software used in
its Night Hawk series of computers by the U.S. Air Force and NASA. 
''It's for any company that doesn't want hackers getting into its computer
network,'' said Gail Truman, Harris' director of corporate communications. ''A
lot of times (with hackers) a company doesn't even know if they've been
there.'' 
Computer hackers gained notoriety in the mid-1980s by tapping into the 
networks of government, colleges and businesses. 
They have gained unauthorized access through the Internet in more than 80
percent of computer crimes investigated by the FBI, according to the Computer
Emergency Response Team, a government-financed group that monitors potentially
illegal activity on the Internet. 
The Internet computer network was originally designed for academic and 
military use but has evolved into an international exchange providing 
information, ideas, products and services. 
Harris' unveiling of the CyberGuard Firewall comes only two weeks after the
firm was established as a subsidiary. It was formerly known as the Computer
Systems Division of Melbourne, Fla.-based Harris Corp. before being spun off
to Harris shareholders on Sept. 29. 
Harris officials said Firewall is the first in its CyberGuard series. 
It monitors all information traveling to and from interactive computer 
networks such as the Internet. Only authorized traffic, defined by a security
policy, is allowed to pass through. 
Firewall is meant for companies already connected to the Internet that have
growing security concerns or sensitive information on their computer networks. 
An example of how it works: Two branches of a major bank _ one in Miami and
one in Chicago _ install firewalls on their computer networks so they can only
correspond with each other, blocking out all interactive networks. 


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NetWorth introduces 8-port Series 2000 Snappable  Hub; lowest-price
hub in industry
IRVING, TEXAS  -Oct. 20, 1994--NetWorth Inc. 
(NASDAQ:NWTH) Thursday announced that it will introduce an 8-port version of
the Series 2000 Snappable Hub product line. 
The 8-port 10BASE-T hub is designed for smaller workgroup and remote site
environments and to complement NetWorth's existing 16-port Snappable Series
2000 Hub product line.  Every unit is equipped with advanced SNMP and HMI
management capabilities at an unmanaged price. 
According to John McHale, NetWorth's chief executive officer: "The 8-port
Series 2000 Snappable Hub with NetWorth's unique Extended Repeater
Architecture (ERA) offers network managers solutions to managing
multi-departmental networks.  We've built the Snappable Hub family around the
workgroup so that network managers don't have to build their workgroups around
the hub." 
The 8-port Snappable Hubs will be fully compatible with the 16-port versions,
and can be connected up to 250 feet apart as one stack. 
NetWorth's Extended Repeater Architecture (ERA) is a unique management and
data backplane that provides management capabilities for each unit and allows
interconnection between hubs using unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wiring.  It
also allows for "hot swapping" of hubs, and segmentation on a per-unit basis. 
The 8-port and 16-port Snappable Hubs can be interconnected via the 
Snappable's RJ-45 expansion port, up to a total of 10 units per stack, and
each Snappable unit can be connected via the Hub Expansion Port to act as one
Ethernet repeater if required. 
Fully SNMP manageable and SNMP-II upgradeable, each hub provides diagnostic
LEDs to indicate link, collision, and partition status. In addition, each unit
carries a lifetime warranty (three-year warranty for power supply and fan). 
The 8-port and 16-port Snappable hubs can also be configured with Networth's
PowerPipes Ethernet/FDDI Switching Hub.  The PowerPipes Hub aggregates up to
12 stacks of Snappable Hubs onto a high-speed FDDI server segment.  By
segmenting and switching Snappable Hubs onto the 100Mbps server segment,
performance and throughput and can be dramatically increased. 
Priced at $795 per unit, the 8-Port Snappable is the lowest- priced stackable
hub offering from any major hub vendor.  Quantity shipments will be available
through NetWorth's sales channels in October 1994. 


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Motorola, Clearnet, Nextel -2-:Clearnet Completes IPO >MOT
  SCHAUMBURG, Ill.  Motorola Inc. (MOT), Clearnet Communications Inc. and
 Nextel Communications Inc. (CALL) have completed a series of transactions. 
  Clearnet has acquired the 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio network business
 of Motorola Canada Ltd. (except Nova Scotia and Manitoba) and Motorola and
 Nextel became shareholders of Clearnet, Motorola said in a press release. 
  Clearnet also announced the completion of an initial public offering.
 Motorola's resulting economic ownership of Clearnet is about 23.3%. The
 transactions included the transfer by Motorola of a portion of its interest
 in Clearnet to Nextel for stock in Nextel as part of the previously
 announced Motorola-Nextel transaction. Nextel will hold 27.3% of the
 combined entity. 
  The network will use Motorola Integrated Radio System infrastructure and
 subscriber equipment. This all-digital wireless communications system will
 enable Canadian users, for the first time, to operate one multi-functional
 handset for voice dispatch, wireless phone, short message service and data
 transmission capabilities. 
  Clearnet has entered into a purchase agreement with Motorola for Motorola
 Integrated Radio System equipment and plans a build-out of the network that
 would provide service to users in about 20 major population centers in
 Canada and other parts of Canada. 
  Clearnet is Canada's largest specialized mobile radio operator and provides
 services in 26 out of the 33 largest population centers in Canada. Clearnet
 also owns and operates MOCO Canada, a leading mobile communications dealer
 with branches in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Quebec City,
 Hamilton, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph and Oshawa. 


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IBM, Strength -2: Acquisition Strategy Discussed >IBM
  Chief Financial Officer York said IBM would consider a ''substantial''
 acquisition. 
  IBM's cash position rose to $10.8 billion in the quarter and its debt
 declined, putting it in position to consider an acquisition. 
  But York said there are no ''material'' acquisitions under consideration
 currently, although he told analysts ''there will come a point when we may
 well make one or two strategic acquisitions of considerable size.'' 
  The IBM executive told Dow Jones that IBM might want to use an acquisition
 to bolster its existing businesses in computer hardware and software, or
 might look at related businesses, such as communication companies or
 ''content'' providers such as publishers. 
  But he cautioned that any such acquisition is ''a couple of years'' away
 and that IBM hasn't yet hired any investment bank to look for deals. 
  York said IBM also might invest some of its cash in existing businesses but
 that it isn't currently considering other uses for the money, such as
 increasing the dividend, buying back stock or further reducing debt. 


**************************************
BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES, INC. APPLAUDS FCC  VIDEO DIALTONE RULING   
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (Oct. 20) BUSINESS WIRE -Oct. 20, 1994 -- Salim
Bhatia, President and Chief Executive Officer of BroadBand Technologies, Inc.,
(NASDAQ: BBTK) said today's Federal Communications Commission decision
finalizing the rules governing "video dialtone" services provided by the
nation's telephone companies paves the way for telephone companies to begin
widespread construction of the long- awaited information superhighway. 
"The new rules give telephone companies the certainty they need to move ahead
with plans to enter the video dialtone market, thereby creating new
opportunities for BroadBand and other companies to supply the advanced
broadband switching and network technologies needed to deliver these new
services,"  Bhatia said. 
At today's meeting, FCC Chairman Reed E.  Hundt said the Commission's goal is
to give telephone companies "the incentives to build bigger and better pipes
to simultaneously deliver voice dialtone and video dialtone." 
"The FCC has given a very clear signal of the capabilities required from a
video dialtone platform: adequate capacity to carry multiple video 
programmers' content on a "nondiscriminatory"  basis, and the expandability
needed to meet future demand for increases in capacity," said Mr.  Bhatia. 
"BroadBand's FLX System was designed from day one specifically to meet those
requirements." 
"The switched digital technology used in the FLX guarantees equal access to
all program providers without imposing complex and costly channel allocation
schemes, and it delivers 1,500 channels to consumers.  The FLX System is a
cost-effective network solution, available today, that delivers the new
broadband video and interactive services consumers want. 
Mr. Bhatia said, "Broadband Technologies' FLX System allows telephone 
companies to meet the FCC's expectations today.  The FLX System delivers voice,
video, and two-way broadband interactive services on an integrated basis over
a single network.  The FCC has added to the incentives for network operators
to turn to the FLX System, which already include operating efficiency gains
and new revenue streams from delivering telephone service, entertainment video,
and two way interactive health, educational, and entertainment services. 
BroadBand manufactures the industry-leading Fiber Loop Access (FLX(r)) System,
a fully interactive, digital broadband switching and transport technology. 
Bell Atlantic is using the FLX System in the only commercial deployment of a
video dialtone platform the FCC has approved to date, in Dover Township, NJ. 
In approving the Dover Township project, 
the FCC said the FLX System stands "at the cutting edge of technology." 
"Consumers will benefit from competition and expanded choice in the video
programming distribution market, and they will gain access to a vast array of
new interactive services,"  said Mr.  Bhatia. 
Based in Research Triangle Park, NC, BroadBand Technologies was founded in
1988.  Its mission is to provide network operators with the systems required
to bring the power of interactive switched digital broadband technology to
consumers.  In addition to Bell Atlantic, Southwestern Bell is deploying
BroadBand's FLX system.  The system also has been used in trials by most
regional operating companies, GTE, and several international telephone
companies.  The FLX System was selected by AT&T as their Switched Digital
Video (SDV) offering for the U.S.  and Canadian markets. 


**************************************
Compaq Wins Energy Star Computer Awards                            
WASHINGTON, D.C.  -Oct. 20, 1994 -- Confirming its 
ongoing commitment to protect the environment, Compaq Computer Corporation
(NYSE:CPQ) announced today that it has been selected to receive two out of
eight 1994 Outstanding Partner Awards at the Environmental Protection Agency's
first Energy Star Computer Conference, which will open with an awards ceremony
tonight in Washington D.C.  The awards recognize the Company's achievements in
developing the most user-friendly personal computer-based power management
interface and attaining the highest percentage of Energy Star-compliant PC
sales. 
"Today's awards underscore Compaq's drive to build PCs that live up to the
highest customer standards, while minimizing their use of energy and their
impact on the environment,"  said Don Weatherson, vice president of government
and education for Compaq.  "We recognize the global concern for saving energy,
and by making it as easy as possible for our customers to activate the power-
management systems of our energy efficient PCs, we are contributing to the
global environmental conservation effort." 
Compaq's commitment to developing innovative products that offer easy-to-use
power-down controls has earned the company the only most user-friendly power
management interface award ever granted by the EPA. Compaq's interface
software is designed to enable the user to control power management mechanisms
by setting the length of "idle" time that will pass before the computer begins
to power down.  This interface was developed after hundreds of hours of
research in the Compaq Human Factors lab on how people interact with their
computers. Compaq was also recognized for the highest percentage of Energy
Star compliant sales in the PC category by significantly increasing the
percentage of its products that are fully Energy Star compliant.  In the first
half of 1994, 73 percent of Compaq's products sold worldwide were Energy Star 
compliant -- up from 60 percent in the last half of 1993.  Compaq will 
continuously improve the power management characteristics of its product lines.
Compaq became a charter member of the EPA's Energy Star Program in May of
1992.  Through this program, which is gaining attention throughout the world,
the EPA has developed standards for energy conservation in personal computers
with the goal of saving energy and reducing air pollution through more
energy-efficient equipment in homes, offices and factories.  To enhance the
program guidelines, Compaq established the Design For Environment (DFE)
program, which outlines environmental parameters including energy efficiency
in the development of its PC products.  The Company's innovative power
management developments focus on reducing the energy consumption of computers
during use, as well as when they are idle. 
The awards will be presented Thursday evening, October 20, at the Energy Star
Conference and Award Ceremony at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. 
Don Weatherson will be at the ceremony to accept the awards for Compaq. 
Corporate Background 
Compaq Computer Corporation is a world leader in the manufacture of servers,
desktop, portable and notebook personal computers. Founded in 1982, the
company reported 1993 worldwide revenues of $7.2 billion. Compaq products are
sold and supported in more than 100 countries through a network of more than
31,000 Compaq marketing partners.  Compaq also sells directly to customers
through Compaq DirectPlus at 1-800-888-5858.  For customer support and
information, call 1-800-345-1518.  Users needing technical support for Compaq
products should call 1-800-OK COMPAQ. 


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TCI TO BUY 10% OF ACCLAIM ENTERTAINMENT                            
Englewood, Colo.-Oct. 20-FWN/UPI--CABLE GIANT TELE- Communications Inc. (TCI)
agreed today to buy 10% of video-game producer Acclaim Entertainment for about
$76 million. 
The companies also agreed to form a joint venture to produce interactive
entertainment software for 500-channel cable networks. 
Acclaim has been the focus of recent takeover speculation following a report
that Sega Enterprises Ltd. of Tokyo was interested in a buyout. Acclaim is a
leading provider of video games for Sega and Nintendo and recently released
"Mortal Kombat II" with more than $50 million in retail sales in its first
week of distribution last month. 
For its part, TCI already has a stake in an interactive game service for cable
television viewers, having been involved in Sega's launch of the Sega Channel
last summer. The service, which allows customers to play Sega games delivered
via cable, is available in a dozen U.S. markets. 
Under terms of the agreement, TCI will purchase about 4.3 million shares of
Acclaim in exchange for TCI stock and/or cash, the companies said. 
John Malone, president and chief executive officer of TCI, and Gregory
Fischbach, chairman and CEO of Acclaim, announced the venture in a satellite
press conference. 
"We think that competitive games of skill over broadband networks will
represent a major new segment of our business," Malone said. "By working with
Acclaim we expect to lead the industry in the development of new platforms for 
network games." 
Bruce Ravenel, senior vice president of TCI Technology Ventures, will join the
Acclaim board of directors. 
The new company, a limited partnership of which Acclaim will own 65% and TCI
will own a 35% share, will focus on the acquisition and licensing of rights to
properties for distribution through interactive electronic media, the creation
of games for broadband networks and the development of new interactive game
network programming. 
TCI, the nation's largest cable operator with 10.9 million subscribers, has
been on the prowl for acquisitions and alliances. It announced in August a
$1.5 billion deal for TeleCable Corp. and the Federal Trade Commission 
launched an investigation recently on the deal's potential antitrust
implications. 


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